Phantom Lover
by CadyBoss3344
Summary: It's 1988 and "Phantom of the Opera" is all the rage. An enigmatic mystery woman pursues Tony, but is there something familiar about her? Find out in this hot, romantic, and sexy mystery.
1. Chapter 1

The Phantom of The Country Club

Summer 1988

Tony eyed the invitation once more; he'd been looking at it repeatedly since it had arrived by special messenger this afternoon. The invitation was to the Masquerade Ball at the Fairfield Country Club; that in itself was enough to floor him, but the accompanying note was that part that completely threw him for a loop:

"Please by my guest at the Ball. I'll be dressed as Christine from "The Phantom of the Opera," awaiting my Phantom so we can make beautiful "Music of the Night'."

Tony was still in shock. Who could have sent him such an invitation? Dare he go? Whoever sent him the invitation had to be well connected enough to be part of the Country Club; but he didn't know anyone there beside Angela and Mona, and he was very certain neither one of them sent the invite. He'd have to make sure Jonathan wasn't up to his old tricks again. He didn't want to show up at the Ball only to find out Jonathan had set him up with his mother again. Maybe it was someone from the Parents Association? The Chaneys were divorcing, maybe the soon to be former Mrs. Chaney would be his Christine? A smile came over his face, he would have no argument with that, the woman always added a nice touch to the meetings.

After making sure Jonathan had not set them up, Tony rented a Phantom costume, complete with half mask and went to the Ball to meet his secret admirer. He searched for quite some time to find his Christine, with the show having just opened on Broadway a few months ago it seemed that half of Fairfield decided to dress up as the Phantom characters.

The invitation sender hadn't counted on the ballroom being filled with Christines and Phantoms; she continually scanned the ballroom looking for Tony but so far had only found five false Phantoms, four Dukes of Earl, three Han Solos, two Supermans, and an Elvis Presley who told her he wasn't a Hound Dog and begged her to keep him from Heartbreak Hotel by giving him her phone number. "Christine" refused.

Finally, she saw him from across the crowded room: Tony. Poor guy was at a loss, looking for someone he didn't even know. She'd have to come to his rescue, if only she could get across the dance floor without being accosted by another Phantom. Tony continued to look around, trying to see if anyone was looking for him. Maybe the whole thing was a joke; cooked up by...he didn't know who to get back at him for something. Maybe he should leave, he thought. This was a big crowd and he didn't know anyone. Just then a waiter passed by carrying glasses of champagne. Tony decided to hang around a while longer; if his Christine never showed up at least he could have champagne and shrimp.

"Christine" finally managed to make it through the crowd, she was behind Tony scared out of her wits. He was completely unaware of her presence. She had to calm down, she could do this. Slowly, step by step she tiptoed up behind him. "Hi," she whispered. Tony didn't hear her over the music.

This was crazy, what was she doing? She should turn around right now, let Tony think he'd been stood up. Just then Tony turned around to see a vision in a late Victorian white bridal gown before him. She wore a long brown curly wig and a lacy mask. Tony had to admire the Victorian fashion of low cut bodices.

"Hi," Tony said, "you looking for me?"

She nodded. He was relieved. They stared at each other for a couple of minutes, neither quite knowing what to say.

"How about a dance?" Tony finally thought to ask.

"Christine" nodded.

She wasn't very talkative.

Tony took "Christine's" hand and led her to the dance floor. He put one hand on her waist and she almost felt faint. Tony had finally put a hand on her, it was a dream come true and it sent chills through her. They started a slow waltz for what else could they dance to in these costumes? The Hustle certainly wouldn't work. "Christine" felt the room swirl around her as Tony led her in the dance. His hold on her was strong; but not forceful. She felt safe and protected; yet there was also the promise of illicit courtship in the dance. It was a thrilling combination.

"Thanks for sending me the invitation; it's not often I get to such a swanky affair," Tony said, trying to get his mystery Christine to speak.

"Christine" couldn't speak. The moment Tony had said "affair" she lost her head, all she could think about was her desire for him. He was wearing a tux and he filled it out so well. He was holding her close and it was intoxicating; she was a woman in overdrive, desperately wanting this hunk of a man. She was throwing away all her inhibitions; now all she had to do was share her interest with Tony. She smiled at him. He smiled back.

The music ended and "Christine" was relieved; there was a quiet patio through the French doors. She took Tony's hand and tugged; silently asking him to follow. Tony was game for anything. Whoever this woman was, she obviously wanted him here. They found a deserted corner, populated only by several potted trees which provided complete seclusion.

Alone in the darkness of the patio, "Christine" was having a difficult time catching her breath. This was partly due to the tightness of her dress and even more partly due to Tony's proximity.

Tony looked at the vision before him, she was nervous, but willing; it didn't take much to figure that out. "You want some champagne?" he asked. She nodded, then shook her head.

OK, so she was indecisive; he could deal with that.

"I'm sorry," she said in a voice not really hers, "I just can't believe you're here...I mean...we're here...together."

Whoever she was, she was cute.

"I'm glad we are." If it had been possible, Tony would have seen a charming blush on her face, but it was hidden by her mask. He stepped a little closer to her, "so here we are out here in the moonlight, in which you look enchanting."

"Thank you," she whispered gripping her hands in front of her out of nervousness. She wasn't nervous that he would touch her; she was nervous that he wouldn't.

"You have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I don't know yours."

"Just call me Christine," she said. Fine, if that's what she wanted, that's what he'd do.

"Christine," he reached out to touch her cheek and she sighed. All Tony could think was that this "Christine" had better be who he thought she was. Tony didn't hesitate any longer, he leaned in to kiss this beautiful enigmatic woman. "Christine" felt Tony's lips touch hers and wasn't sure how she remained standing. Fortunately Tony sensed her almost swoon and put his arm around her, she put her hands on his arms and held on for dear life. The kiss was slow, sweet; yet insistent enough to ignite the flash point of "Christine's" passion.

He kissed his way down her low scooped neckline, stopping at its lowest point in between her breasts. He took his time kissing and licking the tender spot, enjoying the way her breathing became more and more shallow while her heart beat more and more quickly. "Tony," she whimpered which only spurred his own libido into a higher gear. He moved her back against a stone pillar for better leverage and placed both hands at her waist. She moved her hands up to stroke his neck as she leaned against the pillar for support.

Tony leaned in again, this time nuzzling at her ear lobe and he wound an arm around her. She ran her fingers through his thick, luxurious hair.

"Christine" ached to unbutton Tony's shirt and have her way with his chest; but she wanted him to take the lead in this, wanted his ultra-masculinity to be at the point. Speaking of the point, Tony was pressing in on "Christine" and she was very, very happy that even through all the layers of the voluminous skirt she was wearing, she could still feel Tony getting his point across.

It wouldn't hurt for "Christine" to take a little initiative, would it? In the haze of her cloudy mind "Christine" decided it would not hurt, in fact it could be very pleasant. So she dropped one of her hands down to cup around the virility of Tony's manhood.

Tony was so shocked he almost stopped the nibbling of "Christine's" neck that he was doing. Almost, but not quite.

"Christine" decided to be a little bolder and unzipped Tony's pants and slipping her hand into his boxers; making sure her own point was getting across.

She definitely had Tony's full attention now; she had Tony's full attention before too, but now he was sent into overdrive. When Tony was previously nipping at the top of "Christine's" bodice he noticed that the garment was secured by a hook and eye closure. A few slips of the wrist and "Christine" would be free from the "ties" that bound her. Tony pulled far enough away to look "Christine" in the eye as he passionately unhooked the corset top. A firm tug at the chemise left "Christine" exposed and glowing in the moonlight. She looked exquisite.

"No bra!" Tony thought, "score! Gotta love those Victorians and their faux-prudish underwear!" Tony went into full on breast worship; taking care of one luscious pearl with his mouth and the other with his hand, periodically switching.

"Christine" lost the point as it was becoming more and more difficult for her to stay standing. She had to grasp the pillar behind her as slipped further and further into blissful oblivion.

"Tony, don't stop; don't ever stop," she begged.

He obliged.

She couldn't stand it anymore, she pulled up her skirt and wound a leg around Tony; hoping to gain some strength from his vast supply of muscles. This put Tony over the edge; he paused long enough in his obliging to look up at "Christine's" face. She didn't need to say the word "yes" as it was written in her eyes.

Tony pulled her skirt up a little more; he could feel the unusual sensation of stockings; no pantyhose tonight. "Why did stockings ever go out of style" Tony wondered as stroked his hand up the interior of "Christine's" thigh feeling her bare skin. She wasn't even wearing panties; obviously "Christine" had a plan in mind when she sent the party invitation. She was warm and willing; and he got the point across, causing her to gasp "Tony!" at the sensation.

He delved into her sweet femininity, enjoying her heat and every soft curve her body had to offer. She put her arms around him and held on tightly as her world was exploding in an array of ecstasy that she had never felt before.

Neither knew how long they managed to stay together, but when it was over; "Christine" was a sated shell of her former self, back to holding on to the pillar for support. She was blissfully happy, yet unable to speak; she looked at him and he responded by cupping her cheek and kissing her.

She put her arms around his neck again, holding him close; never wanting to let go and wishing they could stay right here forever. If she could freeze a moment in time, this would be it. Actually it would have been a few minutes previously, but she wasn't thinking clearly enough to make that distinction.

They held each other until the moon disappeared behind the clouds. From inside the ballroom they heard the Master of Ceremonies announce that it was ten minutes until the unmasking.

As "Christine" had already been as unmasked as she cared to be; she had to tear herself away from Tony to protect her anonymity. She started to adjust her clothing. Tony put a hand over hers to stop her, "what are you doing?"

"I have to go."

"You becoming Cinderella now?"

"Tony, please."

He let go, "ok, ok."

"Thanks," she said as she kissed his cheek; meaning thanks for letting her go, not thanks for the sex, well ok, some thanks for that too; but Tony knew what she meant. He helped her finish hooking up the corset which was damned near as sexy an action as unhooking it; especially the way he was looking at her as he did it. It was only the time crunch that kept "Christine" from throwing caution to the wind again. Tony took a few moments to make sure all his clothing was in pristine form as well.

"Am I presentable?" she asked, flipping her long brown curls over her bodice.

"You look gorgeous."

She closed her eyes and took a very deep breath. "I look freshly...loved" was all she could think.

"57 seconds until unmasking," came a voice from the ballroom, bringing "Christine" back to reality.

"Gotta go," she said as she ran off.

"Don't I even get a slipper, Cinderella?" Tony said to no one as she was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks everyone for the overwhelming response to this story, I never thought it would be so well received. I'd like to thank the fantastically gifted stayathomemum for help with the plot and the ethereal VioletStella for knowing far too much about "Phantom of the Opera."

Phantom Lover, Chapter 2

Tony was making breakfast, but his mind wasn't on the sizzling bacon or the sunny-side-up eggs. He was daydreaming about "Christine". He'd barely slept all night; his mind kept replaying their illicit encounter on the balcony. Rather than sleep, he'd relived the feel and taste of her mouth. He could still remember how silky her breasts and inner thighs had felt beneath his fingers, and how delighted and excited he'd been upon discovering her wearing old-fashioned stockings, without panties. "Christine" had been bold and she'd made her desire known to him, seducing him with a simple touch. He still couldn't believe how quickly they'd made love, precariously balanced against that stone pillar. The night air had felt cool on his behind, but "Christine" had radiated an intoxicating heat-her feminine warmth had enveloped him and he'd known nothing but her during that fleeting moment of passion. And then, she was gone. She'd left him standing there, mouth gaping, and wondering if he'd ever see this real-life Cinderella again. Not that he didn't have his suspicions, mind you. There had been something familiar about her lips, the shape of her jaw, and the expression in those dark eyes. Even beneath the mask, wig and costume, "Christine" had a recognizable countenance about her. But if his suspicions were right, it meant that his best friend wasn't who he thought she was. Still, it was so unlike her! The smell of burning bacon brought Tony back to his senses. He quickly removed the smoking frying pan from the heat and tried to salvage some of the meat.

"Good morning. Pwahhh, is it ever smoky in here!" Mona exclaimed as she entered the kitchen through the back door. "You fall asleep at the stove, Tony?" she teased him.

"Whaa?" Tony asked, still somewhat dazed from the night before.

Mona studied him a moment—she could always read sex on a man's face, especially when that man hadn't had sex in a while. Tony's 'blissed-out yet bewildered' expression shouted 'mind-blowing, very recent, amazing and unexpected sex'. She raised an eyebrow in surprise and sat down. He had the typical maxed-out, sated look she usually left her own lovers with. Mona's heart lurched at the thought of her daughter. If Tony was having an affair with a woman who left him in this state, it could only be bad news for Angela. "You got lucky last night, didn't you?" she asked him, matter-of-fact.

Tony felt completely transparent. Was he that obvious? He didn't want Mona's scrutiny, so he shrugged and told her that she had sex on the brain. That part was true, after all. And he avoided making eye contact with her.

"Where's Angela?" Mona asked. Tony's avoidant response couldn't have provided a clearer 'yes' to her question, had he shouted it from the rooftops. "We're going to be late. Have the kids left for school already?"

"Yeah Mone. Oh, Angela is going to be late!" Tony realized with a start. He was about to get her, and began to go through the kitchen door when he felt it being pushed from the other side. Angela.

"Uh, hi, Angela," he mumbled, feeling very self-conscious.

"Good morning, Tony." Her tone was casual and light—the same as it was every single day. She smiled at him, sat down and greeted her mother.

"We're running late, Angela." Mona informed her. Whoa! Her daughter had the same blissed-out look as Tony. Blissed-out, satisfied and … and sated?

"You, uh, hungry Angela?" Tony asked her cautiously. His palms were sweating. Angela was acting so "normal".

"Juice and coffee is fine, Tony. Thank you." Same old Angela, same old breakfast. Tony was confused. Was she or wasn't she? He stared at her for a moment too long.

Angela could feel his penetrating gaze upon her. She too, couldn't stop thinking about last night. She'd never been so daring, nor had she ever felt so consumed by passion. But now wasn't the time to dwell on the memory of Tony's hot mouth on her breasts. 'Play it cool', she reminded herself. 'This will only work so long as we don't acknowledge it in our real lives. Phantom is Fantasy and this is breakfast. Come on, Angela, stay in the here and now,' she willed herself. Tony could suspect all he wanted, but she wasn't going to confirm anything for the time being. Or ever, for that matter. Because she and Tony _couldn't _be together in this mundane reality—he'd made that crystally clear to her after her last birthday when she'd sleep-talked her intense and embarrassing declarations of love to him. He'd not reciprocated, preferring as always to maintain their safe friendship and comfortable working relationship. Angela had been quietly devastated by his delicate rejection. Her desire had become an all-consuming fever within her, keeping her awake with longing and sexual arousal. He was in the room next door! It was unbearable to be so close to the man she adored, yet not be allowed to do a thing about it. No wonder, her subconscious had begun screaming at the top of its lungs. Then, an idea had formed in her mind. What if that part of her … the 'asleep, id' part of her … was given what it most desperately wanted? Tony. How could she have Tony, yet not corrupt their existing relationship?

She'd pondered the dilemma for some time. The thought of pretending to sleepwalk into his bed entered her mind once or a hundred times. But she knew that Tony would be a gentleman and escort her back to her own room, never touching her. Never.

Then, a client had given her and Mother his two tickets to _Phantom of the Opera_, as a bonus for her great work on his campaign. Angela had been enthralled by the music, the story, everything! That night, she'd dreamt that she was Christine and Tony, the Phantom. Upon waking up, she'd known how to have the man she wanted more than anything, and not disturb the status quo. And "Christine" had been created. In all of Angela's fantasies, she'd never imagined that "Christine" would seduce Tony so easily. She'd fretted and worried, fearing he might reject her. But she'd counted on his sublimated desire and overly-long celibate lifestyle to be tipping factors. Tony couldn't have been riper for a sexual encounter—he'd risen to the occasion quite formidably. In fact, she'd never known a man to have such stamina and endurance. She looked at him now as he washed the frying pan, his arm muscles taut and movements elegantly fluid. With every ounce of self-restraint she possessed, Angela looked away and slowed down her breathing. Now that she'd had a taste of him as a lover, she wanted more, and soon.

"Well, Mother we should go," Angela declared as she took a last sip of her coffee. "I won't be home for dinner tonight, Tony. I have a business dinner. Have a nice day."

With the women gone, Tony breathed a sigh of relief. Mona's overt scrutiny and Angela's nonchalant demeanor had him feeling both nervous and muddled. He puttered around the kitchen, finished tidying up and headed outside to check the mailbox. There was but one envelope—its scent wafted in the air, invading his nostrils. It was the perfume that "Christine" had worn last night. He examined the envelope for telltale clues, but his name and the address were typed. No stamp. This one had been hand-delivered. Tony's pulse sped up. "Christine" had been to the house. She'd popped it into the mailbox herself. He held the letter up to his nose and breathed deeply, the fragrance powerfully evoking memories of last night's rendezvous. Taking a deep breath, he eagerly tore into the envelope and read it:

_Tony, _

_Tearing myself away from you last night shattered me. All I could do last night was think of you; I couldn't sleep. I hope you spared a thought for me and thought of me fondly. I need you, need to make more music of the night with you. All I ask of you is to meet me tonight at 10 o'clock where the railway tracks meet the path of willow trees. You know it well. I long to feel your arms around me again and let the flames at last consume us. I'm past the point of no return._

_Yours, _

_Christine_

Tony reread the note four times. Yes, he did know that area well, but how did "Christine" know that? Had she seem him there? Or perhaps she'd been the one to introduce him to it a couple of years ago. It had been an oft selected picnic area for the family, popular on Sunday afternoons. But on a weeknight, at ten o'clock, he knew the place would be deserted. And possibly cold. He'd have to bring a blanket with him. Tony shook his head; he was seriously considering this invitation. Perhaps he should leave it at last night—a secret tryst with a mystery lover. He put the invitation down and tried to ignore it, but it silently beckoned to him. There was no way he could ignore this, or not show up. "Christine" would be waiting for him, ready and willing. And Tony wanted answers.

XXX

Evening arrived, and Tony rushed through dinner. His distracted, hurried demeanor wasn't lost on the children. He'd cleared their plates while they were still eating.

"What's up with you, Dad? Can we at least finish our food first?" Samantha asked him.

"What? Oh, sorry Sam. Here, want more?" Tony hesitated, holding a generous ladle of pasta in the air, poised over the cleared table.

"Earth to Dad! You took our plates away, remember?" Sam rolled her eyes, and Jonathan snickered.

"I did? Oh. Well don't you kids have homework to do?" Tony wanted to clean up quickly and get to the path of willow trees where Christine would be waiting. But first, he needed a quick shower and a stop off at the drugstore would also be prudent. "Uh kids, I need to go out for a bit. Mona's nearby if you need anything." Tony told them.

"What about my mom? When's she coming home?" Jonathan asked. At twelve, he was old enough to stay home alone, especially with Sam, who was almost sixteen. But Tony didn't usually go out on nights when Angela was working late. And he'd been acting strange all evening. The kids eyed him suspiciously.

"Your mom? Uh, your mom is at a business dinner. She'll probably be home soon." Tony wasn't sure about that statement at all. He sent the kids upstairs to do their homework and quickly tidied up, then got himself ready. The rendezvous point was a half hour drive away and he didn't want to be late. He hoped to see "Christine's" car. A 1986 blue Jaguar, perhaps? No, that was crazy. Angela was way too conservative and uptight to do something like this. His fervent wish that it might be her was playing tricks on his imagination. Whoever "Christine" was, she was like a drug, intoxicating. Now that he'd had her, he wanted her again. And this time, he wanted to see her face.

Angela had stashed her wig, mask, and dress in the trunk of the car. She quickly changed in a coffee shop bathroom, hanging onto the mask for later. A quick twirl in the mirror made her smile. The wig looked pretty good, not too unnatural, its soft brown curls cascading down her back. She liked seeing herself as a brunette again—it had been too many years. As for her outfit, she'd chosen an elegant satin dress that Tony had never seen her in. She left her car in the parking lot and called a cab to take her to Tony. No way could she risk having him see her car. During the ride over, her heart pounded with anticipation and nerves. This charade was making her dizzy with excitement and worry. What if Tony didn't show? What if he stood her up? What if the kids had needed him, or he was simply uninterested in continuing beyond a one-night stand? What if he suspected it was her, and didn't want her? The fear of rejection lodged in her throat and made her mouth dry. As the taxi approached the willow tree path, Angela became more and more anxious. She told the cabbie to wait, just in case. Walking a few yards away from the taxi, she scanned the area and saw Tony's blue van. Angela told the cabbie to return for her in half an hour, and began heading toward the van.

The mask! Angela gasped because she'd almost forgotten. Hands trembling from nerves, she quickly slipped it on, securely positioning it into place. 'I'm Christine now,' she whispered to herself, as she got closer to the blue van. She hesitantly tapped at the driver side door, then more boldly.

"I'm over here," Tony called. He'd been waiting on a boulder near the van, anxious for her to arrive. He stood up on unsteady legs and approached her. "Hi."

Angela waved at him, not wanting to use her voice unless absolutely necessary. Disguising it wasn't easy, but she'd managed to affect a New Jersey, nasal voice that sounded absolutely horrid, and quite convincing. Didn't much matter since they weren't there to talk.

"So, uh, Christine, come here often?" Tony jested. He wondered how she knew about this place. "Christine" shook her head.

"Not much of a talker, are you?"

She shook her head again.

"I liked your note. It was very intriguing, and … and I haven't been able to stop thinking about you either," he admitted to her. "Last night was pretty incredible, huh?"

Angela could feel herself blushing. He was so close—she ached to touch him. 'I'm Christine now!' she reminded herself. She moved a step closer to him, bridging the tiny distance and stroked his cheek. She placed her other hand on his chest, surprised by the sensation of his racing heart beneath her fingers. He was as terrified as she was. Tony put his arms around her and pulled her close. He wanted her to speak and to reveal herself, but he knew that she'd simply nod or shake her head. She was the same size as Angela, he noted. Tall, willowy, and slim. Could it be her? It was hard to tell in the dark.

"Do you want to come inside my van?" he asked her. Then, he could turn on the light and examine her up close. She shook her head. He sighed. "Where … where do you want to … you know?" She pointed toward the trees, where soft grass grew between them. They wouldn't be disturbed there.

"It might be cold," he informed her. She shrugged. "Ok, I'll get a blanket from the van." Together they walked over to the willow path and spread the blanket in a secluded area. It was so dark that they had trouble seeing. She bumped into him and gasped at the unexpected contact. Tony put his hands on her shoulders to steady her, and began stroking her arms and back.

"Let's make love," she whispered to him. Whispering—she should have thought of that before.

"Oh, I want to," he said. "But I also want to know you. You're a mystery to me. I want to know everything about you!" he exclaimed. Curiosity was getting the best of him.

"Christine" shook her head yet again. "Don't ask questions," she warned him.

Tony thought for a second. "Hey, you're not married, are you? Just tell me that! 'Cause it wouldn't be right if you were."

She shook her head and smiled. "No, I'm not." She leaned her face close to his. "You're so damned honorable, you know that? Not many men would care." Unable to stop herself, she placed a soft kiss against his full lips.

"I care. I … I don't know what to think about this. Are we strangers? Do we know each other? Why the disguise, Christine? Why can't we just be together as we are?" He was pressing her and could feel that it was making her uncomfortable.

"You ask too many questions. If this is too difficult for you, then it's better to end it now," she began. "Isn't it enough to know that I want you?"

"Alright, you win this time," he conceded. "Because I want you too. God, do I ever want you!" Tony kissed her, gently at first until his need built up within him making his kisses more urgent and demanding. They collapsed together onto the blanket, mouths still fused. She began to undo the buttons of his shirt.

"You don't waste any time, do you?" he breathed.

"We don't have much time," she panted into his ear.

"Wait, I have a condom," he said. "We didn't have one last night and I was worried …"

"Don't worry. I've taken care of things," she reassured him. "And I'm clean."

"Oh good. So am I … but we took a hell of a risk last night," he chided her.

"No risk. I know that I'm safe with you. Now, come here."

Their kissing intensified and they quickly shed their clothes. They were shivering in the cold night air and clung to each other tightly for warmth. He could only see the outline of her body, but that was enough to inflame his passion and desire for her. This time, he wanted to go more slowly and be gentle with her. Last night's desperate coupling against a stone pillar had been so frenzied and quick that he'd barely had time to realize what they were doing, until they were … well, doing it! He placed a series of light kisses along her shoulder and slowly ran his hands along her body until she arched up against him. She tightened her grip around his biceps, and he understood that she didn't want gentleness tonight. Her entire body vibrated with a violent need and all he could do was succumb to her.

"Take me … take me … now …" she cried in a fierce whisper. She pulled him against her, their pounding hearts pressed together, beating a crazed rhythm. He came into her then, quickly and fiercely. There was something familiar about her, he thought to himself, but the thought was cut short when she sharply dragged her fingernails down his back in an explosion of passion. "Christine" let out a sharp cry into his ear. The current of ecstasy shot through both of them at the same time, and they collapsed, spent.

Tony had to catch his breath. He turned onto his side and looked at "Christine". "How do you do that to me?" he asked between ragged breaths.

"I could ask you the same thing," she said. "Christine" began to stand up but Tony held her wrist. "You're leaving? Now?" he asked her. He wanted to hold her closely for a bit, to process everything that had happened. He wasn't ready to let her go.

"I have to go," she told him.

"Wait! I want to see you again. How can I contact you?" Tony was desperate. He wanted this woman, whoever she was. She'd ignited a passion from deep within his spirit. He felt connected to her, and it wasn't only about sex.

"I'll contact you. In a few days. Good night." She quickly slipped on her dress and disappeared into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun was shining and the birds were singing as Tony woke up and wondered if his nights of passion with "Christine" had in fact been nothing but dreams. It seemed so real; yet so unreal at the same time. Memories of two far too short trysts with an intoxicating mystery woman ran through his mind, taunting him; "did this really happen? And if so, who did it happen with?" Doubts also ran through his mind, "maybe it was all just a dream. You need to get out more; stay away from the cleaning supplies, they only do strange things to your mind."

Whatever the cleaning supplies did or didn't do, it was time to get up and face another day. Tony got up and headed to the garage for a workout. If "Christine" did exist, he wanted to be in peak form should she ever contact him again. She was maddening, but fascinating; he desperately wanted to get in touch with her, but he had no confirmation of her identity. Yes, he was 99.999999999% sure of who she was; but that nagging thought of, "there's no way Angela would ever do something like this," running through his head created enough doubt in his mind that if he had been on trial the jury would have to acquit him.

Tony finished his workout and went back upstairs to shower and get dressed. He stopped on his way to the bathroom as he saw an envelope on top of his dresser; it was the invitation to the Ball at the Country Club. For a moment he thought it was a new invitation from "Christine" and his heart skipped about a million beats; but of course he realized that if Angela was "Christine" she wouldn't give herself away by leaving an invitation for him in a place where no other woman had access. And as long as Angela wanted access to him; for sure no other woman would have access to him. He may not have confirmation of identity; but at least the envelope confirmed to him that the encounters with "Christine" had not been dreams, no matter how surreal they were.

He looked at Angela's innocuous closed bedroom door. What was she thinking? What was she doing? He thought about crashing through her door and demanding her to tell the truth, she'd demur, but eventually she'd come clean and they'd spend the rest of the day in bed, making up for a lot of lost time. It was a nice thought, he thought; but that slightest bit of doubt kept him on the path to the bathroom and away from Angela's door. Tony took a very cold shower, which didn't seem cold to him at all because all he could think about was "Christine" and her lips upon him. If he disassociated enough he could pretend it was "Christine's" hand guiding the soap along his body. He closed his eyes, trying to recreate "Christine's" touch as he moved the soap down his chest. It was almost working when his reverie was rudely interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Tony, I'm going into the City early today, I'll see you later. Yes, this means I am skipping breakfast. I promise I will eat at work."

Angela! It was Angela at the door, at least his daydream was halted by the woman he was dreaming about. He almost dropped the soap in surprise. Wait, what did she say? She was leaving? If she was leaving he wouldn't get the chance to see her face this morning; and he desperately needed to see her, he had to look in her eyes, see if they betrayed anything at all. For a woman who was so wanton behind a mask she sure had a way of keeping it under control in the daylight.

"Angela! Wait!" Tony called as he jumped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. This was a very conscious decision on his part, the more skin the better; the bathrobe could wait until she was gone. Tony opened the bathroom door, he hadn't bothered to dry himself in his hurry, so his skin was glistening and his hair was looked as if it had been mussed up in a moment of passion.

Angela took one took at him and inwardly gulped; little drops of water clung to his pecs and all she wanted to do was lick each and every one of those drops off of him. It would be such a shame if those drops dripped down him without anything to stop them. "Strong, Angela; be strong," her head admonished. "Jump him!" screamed the rest of her, "just push him back into the bathroom; shut the door behind you, lock it and spend the rest of the day making sure the both of you are really, really clean." Angela hoped her face wasn't becoming too flushed. She had to keep herself under control, she silently reprimanded herself, "hold it together, Angela, we have to be nonchalant. You're Angela now, not 'Christine.'"

"Was there something you needed, Tony?" Angela asked with a calmness she did not feel.

"Yes, you in the shower with me." Too bad he didn't say that out loud. Instead he said, "how can you run off without breakfast?"

"Tony, I am a grown woman..."

Whatever she said after that Tony had no idea as all he could think about was his total agreement and appreciation of her being a grown woman. She was betraying nothing; she was composed, her eyes gave no hint to the passion that lurked beneath. He was maddened by her ability to remain so even-keeled when she should be floating on air.

"What, Angela?" he had to ask when she had finished.

"Why are you so distracted?"

"Me? I'm not distracted, no way." He might have gotten away with it if he hadn't tried to rest a hand on the door jamb and missed, almost winding up in an undignified heap on the floor but managing to right himself in the nick of time. In the mirror behind Tony, Angela saw something that amazed her; Tony had scratches down his back. She hadn't remembered being quite so...reckless, but felt a little thrill that she had marked him so. And of course the thought crossed her mind that she'd liked to kiss her way up and down every one of those scratches and make them all better.

Inwardly Angela smiled; it wasn't often that Tony's equilibrium was so out of whack, and it thrilled her to her toes that his current befuddlement was because of her. He was so darned cute. She had to get out of there, though; any longer and the "Jump him!" side of her was going to win out.

Back to business, Angela said, "gotta go; lot's of advertising stuff to do, don't know when I'll be home." She turned and headed toward the stairs.

"Where are you going, Cinderella?"

Angela stopped halfway down the stairs. He couldn't have said what she thought he just said, could he? And if he did; did he know or did he only suspect? She had to play this very cool. She slowly turned around the see Tony leaning against the door jamb with his arms folded across his chest. The "Jump him!" contingent in her mind grew even louder. The way his arms looked across his chest, so firm, strong; she desperately wanted to be enfolded in them. She could have sworn a small canary eating smile was on his face.

"Why did you call me Cinderella?" Playing dumb seemed like the best option.

"You, running off without any breakfast; not even juice and coffee. It's not healthy, Angela; it's like you are running from the ball without even having one dance."

Oh great, now he was referencing a ball...and dancing and she was pretty darn sure he didn't mean dancing in its literal sense. Angela had to do some quick thinking, but that was why they paid her the big bucks, "I said I would dance at work. Tony, you are too much of a mother hen sometimes." Angela turned around and considered the mattered closed.

Tony let her go, but that canary eating grin didn't leave his face. He still wasn't sure; but at least he was 99.9% sure now. Tony finished his shower and his morning duties. After the kids were gone, he started dusting. And just where did he decide to start today: Angela's room, of course. It was time for a reconnaissance mission. He really did have to dust in there, and if it just so happened that her closet needed to be dusted; well, he was always a very thorough housekeeper. He doubted that Angela would leave any incriminating evidence any place in the house, he had too much access to every nook and cranny for that; but he was going to check anyway. Well, everywhere except where she kept her underwear and nighties. First, those were private and he wasn't going to cross that line. Second; and more importantly, he would only get turned on and that would only lead to frustration.

Tony did dust, and he did check the closet and the drawers and under the bed; but as he expected, he came up empty on wig or mask. She could be hiding them at work or in the car; the car which was ever so conveniently not here at the moment. Tony would have to be patient; but he had one more option. He walked over to her dressing table and opened Angela's small array of perfumes. She didn't wear perfume often which was one of the reasons he was hesitant about believing "Christine" was Angela. Poor Tony couldn't have known that the perfume was Angela's way of throwing him off the scent. He checked each one; but none of them were the intoxicating scent "Christine" wore (which was of course, "Phantom" perfume). This disappointed him; not only for the lack of confirmation but also because he really, really wanted to smell that perfume again. Preferably on Angela when she was wearing nothing else, but he would take whatever he could get at this point.

After a long day of no answers and no new invitation from "Christine" Tony set to making dinner. The kids were home doing their homework at the kitchen table. They were a great way to get his mind off a sensuous woman. Yup, he'd just put that enticing, exciting, sexy woman right out of his mind...tomorrow.

"Dad! Earth to Dad!"

"What? Sorry, honey, what is it?"

"Never mind. What's with you, anyway?"

"Me? Nothing."

"Sam's right, Tony; it's like you're on another planet or something."

"I'm right here, ready to help with any homework necessary."

"Thanks Dad, but I'll take my chances on my own."

"Suit yourself."

Mona and Angela arrived home not long after that conversation which made Tony very, very happy. Angela may have looked all composed business woman on this outside, but on the inside she was a quivering mess who wanted to kick everyone but Tony out so they could have their way with each other in every room of the house. She felt a little faint at the very thought; but what could she do? It was a school night for everyone, "Christine" couldn't call Tony away from his responsibilities again. It was torture being so close to him yet not being able to scream, "I'm Christine! Take me! Take me now and often!" Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. Until "Christine" could come up with another way to get Tony alone she'd have to live on fantasies. She'd long lived on fantasies where Tony was concerned; she wasn't sure yet if actual knowledge of him was a benefit or frustration to her fantasies.

Over dinner Mona continued to scrutinize Tony and Angela; she couldn't quite figure out what was going on and it vexed her. Tony's feet still weren't touching the ground and his countenance still bore the remnants of blissed-out satedness; but Angela was outwardly calm. So either Angela wasn't the woman Tony had been with; or she was playing it very cool. Mona could understand the reasons for Angela wanting to play it cool; but she could not comprehend how Angela would be able to pull off keeping cool after being with Tony. If anything she'd be shouting it from the rooftops. And another thing, Angela hadn't been singing, "Climb Every Mountain," so Mona concluded that her daughter must be living in ignorant bliss when it came to Tony.

Now all she had to do was figure who Tony's new girlfriend was. Someone from school? Perhaps. Someone from the Parents Association? Not many single mothers there; and the ones that were, probably not the type Tony would be interested in. Another old girlfriend from the old neighborhood. Mona decided that was the most likely option. She wondered who the babe was who put such a smile on Tony's face. Mona looked at her daughter, how was the poor thing going to react when she found out Tony had a girlfriend and how could she be so dense as to not see the truth? It was obvious to Mona that Angela had no clue; girl always was too wrapped up in her work and now it had cost the kid. "Poor Angela," she thought, "my poor, poor, Angela; never being enticing to men."

Poor, poor Angela was anything but not enticing; if her mother had ever bothered to notice, which she hadn't.

Somewhere in the long, lonely night Angela came up with another plan which she put into motion the next morning over breakfast, "Tony, I have to meet a potential client in Boston over the weekend. With Sam going away with Bonnie and Jonathan meeting his Dad in the City; it looks like you'll have a weekend to yourself. Well, except for Mother of course, but I am sure she find ways to occupy herself," she motioned to her mother. Mona stuck her tongue out at her daughter.

"Don't stick your tongue out unless you're going to use it, Mother."

"Oh, I'll use it."

Angela shook her head at her mother and turned her attention back to Tony, "a weekend with no responsibilities, whatever will you do?" she asked him.

Tony paused mid-serving the pancakes. He could think of quite a few things he could do and the smile on his face betrayed his thoughts as his eyes grew unfocused. Somehow he wouldn't be surprised if he heard from "Christine" at some point today. Angela was pleased beyond belief to see Tony so twitterpated. Yes, that was the word; twitterpated.

Mona started to suspect something else, these two couldn't be carrying on right underneath the noses of the family, could they? This bore much further scrutiny. Angela was cool as a cucumber; but she might have better self-control from all her years in the corporate jungle. Tony had no need for such subterfuge; his feelings were an open book and right now Mona was reading a very interesting chapter.

"Dad!"

"Huh, what?"

"Pancakes; you're about to drop them on the floor."

"Sorry, kiddo; have a writing assignment to do and some thoughts just flew into my head, you know how it is."

Yeah, sure she did. She looked at Jonathan who only shrugged, "adults, they're weird," and kept eating.

Mona tucked all of this away in the new file in her head titled: "Are Tony and Angela Doing It? Finally?" It would be about time, how her daughter kept her hands off him as long as she had already she had no idea. She was going to bide her time, observe; and find out exactly who this 'client' in Boston was. Up until this morning she had not heard of any 'potential client' in Boston. If Mona were to hazard a guess, this 'potential client' was currently standing in the kitchen doing battle with pancakes; and it was very likely that Angela was not going to see any of the sights of Boston this weekend. Although she was sure the sights Angela would see in her hotel room would rival anything Boston had to offer.

"Well, time to go; come along Mother." Mona did more than come along, she followed her daughter like a hawk, watching every move she made throughout the work day. Angela asked her to make a hotel reservation in Boston, so she did. In addition to a room reservation that Angela wouldn't use, she also made travel arrangements Angela wouldn't use. Angela was a step ahead of her mother though. The hotel room was going to be checked into and if Mona had any ideas about checking up on Angela over the weekend; well, Angela had that covered too.

Angela's old friend Emily had left Stanford for Harvard; she would be checking in to the hotel and picking up any messages left for Angela. Angela would call the hotel once a day to see if her mother had called her in Boston and return any call she might make. She had all of her bases covered.

Back at the house, Tony was straightening up the living room with the tv on. An ad for "The Phantom of the Opera" came on and he was transfixed. There they were, the Phantom and Christine; she wasn't wearing much, a long white robe over something. The Phantom was behind her, he put his arm around her shoulder and rested his hand on the soft skin just below her neck. She leaned back into him and touched him. This show was hot. Tony wondered how much scalped tickets were going for and if he could afford it. The commercial ended and Tony returned to his duties. He wished he had a way to contact "Christine."

Fortune must have heard his wish because the doorbell rang. Tony answered the door to see the messenger again, bearing another envelope. Tony took the envelope as the messenger told him there was a reply card he needed to return. Tony had an opening, "you know who's been sending me these invitations?"

"No sir, deliveries come into a central pick up location. I'll take the reply back there and someone else will deliver it."

"Damn," Tony thought, for a moment he hoped he might have found the answer to the mystery. Tony read "Christine's" latest invitation:

Dear Tony,

The Phantom asks, "what sweet seduction lies before us?" I ask the same question. There are two reply cards in this envelope. If you send the 'yes' reply card, I will be waiting for you in room 920 at The Plaza Hotel at 2pm today. If not, I hope we will have a chance to meet again very soon.

Yours _always_,

Christine

Tony read the words several times before they registered. "Christine" wanted an afternoon tryst. Whoever she was, she knew his and the family's schedule well. She knew he had a free afternoon today; well, free up until a couple of minutes ago when fantastic plans suddenly presented themselves. Tony put the 'yes' card into the return envelope and went to prepare for an afternoon at The Plaza. "Christine" certainly had a lot of creative ideas up her sleeve. When the messenger appeared he hoped that he bore an invitation to a weekend in Boston; but a date for this afternoon was even better.

The messenger who delivered the reply to Angela's office was a woman so Mona didn't have a chance to flirt. If anything, she was annoyed by her as the woman was instructed to deliver this envelope to Angela Bower only. In fact the instructions were very specific, "do not leave this envelope with a redhead in the front office under any circumstances." The delivery woman heeded the instruction and asked to see Ms. Bower. Mona glowered at her, but dialed Angela. Angela appeared from her office and handed the woman a large tip and then disappeared from Mona's scrutiny; leaving an extremely curious Mother behind her.

Mona's curiosity would remain unsatisfied as Angela didn't buzz her with any immediate instructions that she could deduce any rash conclusions from.

In her office, Angela ripped open the envelope. Her heart was racing, her palms were sweating, she silently begged, "please say yes, please say yes!" She fumbled with the envelope so much that the reply card fell out and flitted to the floor, landing face down of course. She pounced on the paper and almost screamed with joy when she saw the answer was yes. She'd already checked into the hotel in hopeful anticipation of Tony saying yes; the wig and mask were there, along with today's seductive outfit.

Around 12:30 Angela made an important phone call to Connecticut.

"Bower residence," Tony answered.

"Oh, hi; Tony," she said liked she hadn't expected him to be there at all. She hadn't really; that was her real reason for the call, to find out if Tony was on his way into the City yet or not.

"What can I do for you, boss?"

Tony may have said "for" but all Angela could hear was "to" and the myriad things he could do "to" her went through her mind, causing her to completely forget she was on the phone.

"Angela?" Tony prompted after a few moments of silence.

"Oh, um; I just wanted to know what you were planning for dinner."

Yeah, sure she did.

"Whatever you want, Angela."

Angela blushed about ten shades of red, thinking about the many things she wanted, "I'll go with whatever you want, Tony." Truer words were never spoken.

"Then I will surprise you."

"Ok," she answered, almost swooning.

"Gotta go, Angela; you caught me just as I was heading out the door on some important errands."

Oh that did it; Angela had to get her breathing under control or this call was going to turn even more obscene.

"Ok, bye."

"Bye. See ya later."

Angela hung up the phone and took a few moments to pull herself back together. In Connecticut, Tony grinned as he hung up the phone. He whistled as he locked up the house and headed to The Plaza.

When Angela was enough of herself again, she gathered up her briefcase and purse and walked out of her office. "I'm feeling closed in by the office today, Mother; I'm going out to the streets for inspiration." Oh, she'd be inspired all right.

"You? Closed in by the office? Lean down so I can feel your forehead to make sure you're not running a fever."

"Funny." Angela turned to leave, there was no way she was letting her mother anywhere near her overheated forehead.

"How will I reach you if I need you?"

"I'll call every once in a while," and with that Angela was out of the office and on her way to The Plaza.

Curiouser and curiouser was all Mona could think. She had half a mind to follow her daughter; but there was no one in the office she could pawn her work off onto. Not that this was usually a problem for her, but today Angela was obviously up to something and if this something involved Tony, she didn't want to mess up Angela's plans.

Angela was ready and waiting when the knock on the door finally happened. She had been anxiously awaiting Tony's arrival since talking with him on the phone. She was so excited for this mid-afternoon get together that she was almost trembling. She moved to stand in the line of sight of the door and said, "come in."

Tony opened the door to a vision. There was "Christine" once again that long brown wig and her mask; but this time she was wearing a long white almost sheer robe. From the looks of it, she wasn't wearing anything underneath. The robe was a very good facsimile of the one Christine wore in the tv commercial; low neckline, sleeves ending at the elbow with long lace draping down to her wrists from there. On her feet she wore heels with white fluffy marabou; what were those called? Mules. What a funny name for a shoe. Tony didn't really care about the shoes or their name; just that he wanted to get them off her. The thoughts jumbled through Tony's mind, but the one that called to him the most was the most obvious: that robe was held together with one bow. One slip of the string and the robe would no longer be an impediment to his desire. It wasn't much of an impediment as it was.

Tony's heart raced just looking at her; he wanted to enact that scene from the commercial immediately.

"Tony?"

Tony tore his eyes away from ogling "Christine" to look her in the face. She hated to tear him away from his scrutiny because she found she liked it when he looked at her that way.

"Shut the door and hang out the 'Do Not Disturb' sign."

"Sure." Tony hoped The Plaza had plenty of extras and he planned to swipe this one from the hotel as a souvenir. He took care of the "Christine's" request then turned his full attention back to her.

"Are you going to come a little closer?"

"I'd like to come a lot closer."

She smiled and held out her hand, "good."

Tony hesitated.

"Is something wrong?"

This wasn't going to be easy, but Tony had a lot of time to think on his way into the City and in his mind it was time to clear some things up. "Christine, it bothers me that you have all the power here. You know a lot about me and I know nothing about you," he said. 'Except that you're hot as hell,' he thought. "As fun as this is; and believe me, it is fun; I'm starting to feel a little used here."

"Christine" was stunned. How could he think that? Couldn't he see how much she cared for him?

"Would it be so terrible to lose the mask and the wig?" he asked. 'and the robe,' he silently added.

"Tony, we've talked about this before." She was staying away from him, fearful that he might reach out and pull the mask off her the way Christine did to the Phantom in the show.

"Yes, we have, but we only tabled the conversation."

"Short tabling."

"An...nnd, _Christine_; I go home and wonder if I will ever hear from you again. I have no way to contact you."

Angela was terrified, she could have sworn he almost said "Angela" and that would ruin everything, "it's just the way things have to be."

Tony did almost say 'Angela,' but covered by turning it into 'and'. "Why? Sometimes I think you're just having a little fun slumming with a housekeeper."

Angela was shocked, "NO!" She wanted to run to him, throw her arms around him; but Angela was taking over from Christine and she held back.

"Are you ashamed to be with me?" he asked.

"Absolutely not!"

"Then way all the secretiveness?"

"It's complicated."

Tony sighed and leaned against the door, "we're going around in circles."

Angela could feel her much anticipated afternoon slipping away from her. If Tony didn't want to play anymore, there was nothing she could do. If she took off the mask their precious house of cards would come crumbling down and there would be no rebuilding it. The game would be over and they would both lose. She knew Tony would once again demur from a relationship; just as he had after her birthday. This was all his fault; if he had given her the slightest encouragement then, she wouldn't have had to resort to the subterfuge.

"I'm sorry I can't give you what you need, Tony; it would ruin everything."

"I'm sorry too."

They were at an impasse. Would Angela acquiesce and tell the truth? Would Tony throw caution to the wind and indulge anyway?

Two people desperate for each other stood in a hotel room, neither wanting to give in; but both overcome by passion. Their hearts ached for each other, but they could not see the simple way to resolve their dilemma, it would only take an "I love you" from each of them. Their minds were not conditioned to think that way in their relationship though, their thoughts towards each other usually tended to the, "why do things always have to be so difficult for us?" mindset; which is where they were once again. Unable to go forward, unwilling to go back.

They continued to wait in silent standoff.


	4. Chapter 4

**Phantom Lover, Chapter 4**

Tony stared at "Christine" and she stared back. They were engaged in a pathetic game of chicken, but the stakes were high and neither wanted to capitulate. Tony had his pride, after all. This woman was using him, and as fun as it was to be used for sex, he did have his dignity. He weighed an invisible scale in his mind: dignity, sex, dignity, mind-blowing passion, dignity, a woman's nude body beneath his hands, dignity, ecstasy, dignity, pulling at that tie on her robe and seeing her nude in full light (for he'd only been with her in darkness until now). The scale gave way with a resounding crash. With no outward preamble, he swiftly grabbed at her belted robe, undoing it with a single tug. "Christine" gasped—Tony's movements had been so brusque that she hadn't had time to react. Her robe slid to the floor, leaving her bare before him.

Angela's first instinct was to cover herself up; she was stark naked in front of Tony after all. Up until now, she'd either been partially covered by clothing or by the darkness of night. Her hands moved to cover her pubic area, and she turned her face away from him, blushing. Though through her mask, who could tell?

"You've got to be kiddin' me!" he scoffed. "You're bein' modest? You, the seductress of the night?"

Angela had to remember that she was "Christine" and that the purpose of this afternoon at the Plaza was indeed being accomplished by her disrobing.

"You know, you got nothin' to be shy about! You're beautiful," he said. Tony took a step toward her and grabbed her hands, pulling them away from her body. "I want to look at you." His voice was a soft growl. He continued holding her arms in his strong grip, skimming her body with his eyes, lingering on her breasts, belly and lower, focusing on every curve and attribute unique to her.

"Tony …" Angela was unnerved by his close scrutiny. She suddenly felt like a fly beneath a microscope-Tony was practically examining her. What Angela didn't know, was that Tony remembered her body from that time he'd walked in on her coming out of the bath. A soft hiss escaped him, because he knew now … he _knew_ it was her. Of that he had no doubt. He knelt before her, and stared at her knees for a moment too long. He knew Angela's knees and calves—he'd recognize them anywhere. But he saw no reason to let her in on his little secret. He now understood her reasons for deception and subterfuge and decided that it was indeed their best bet for being together. It was crazy and daring and it excited him terribly knowing that he and Angela were secret lovers. So secret that even he wasn't supposed to know about it. The irony of it made him chuckle.

"Do my knees amuse you?" she asked, both embarrassed and indignant. She had an overwhelming desire to cover up, warring with an equally powerful desire to strip him of his clothes too.

"Get on the bed," he commanded her.

"Well, you've certainly recovered from feeling _used_," she commented. She was fused to the ground, unable to do as she was told. She feared that if she moved, her legs would give out from under her. Tony's up-close and personal inspection of her body was incredibly arousing once she recovered from her initial attack of modesty. Like a worshipper at a shrine, he was at her feet. He stood now, to his full height and looked down at her. "Get on the bed." His voice was quiet and demanded to be obeyed.

Tony wondered why "Christine" simply stood there, like a deer caught in headlights.

"You've had all the power in this _relationship_ so far," he told her. "This is the third time that I've been at your beck and call … it's time to do things my way, Christine."

"Your way?" she asked, feeling her legs turn evermore to Jell-O beneath his severe scrutiny. For a fleeting moment, she wanted her best friend back. This Tony was more primitive, forceful, and he was most definitely trying to gain the upper hand.

"Yeah, my way. You're not the … boss of me," he said, unable to fully keep the irony out of his tone. Tony desperately wanted to smile. Actually, he wanted to grab Angela's stupid mask and fling it to the floor, along with the wig. Well, perhaps not the wig, because he found her quite sexy as a brunette. This whole 'alter ego' thing was intriguing. But two could play at this game. They were not employer/employee right now. Heck, their working relationship was the reason why Angela had come up with this crazy getup to begin with. He understood—and he was grateful to her. 'How clever, Angela,' he thought. 'You devised a way for us to be lovers without ruining a thing at home. You're a damned genius.' He wished he could tell her this and have a good laugh about it with her, but he knew that they weren't ready for that. Besides, they had a masquerade to continue.

Angela liked Tony asserting himself in this relationship. Up until now, she hadn't looked at it from his point of view; she had only been focused on the mutual pleasure, missing the fact that he might feel emasculated. She was still having trouble understanding this because she never thought of him as anything but masculine, very masculine; knee wobbling, swoon worthy masculine in fact. But if getting on the bed would help restore his wounded male ego, she'd be more than happy to comply. She nodded and moved over to the bed, conscious of his eyes on her back.

"Pull back the covers and lie down," Tony prompted. It was giving Tony a thrill to turn the tables on her. Angela did as he requested, then began pulling the blankets up over herself.

"I didn't say to cover yourself up," he smirked, his eyes sparkling with mirth. Tony was beginning to enjoy this way too much.

"Are we playing 'Simon Says'?" Angela asked from her vulnerable place on the bed.

Tony moved to sit down on the edge of the bed and leaned in, "maybe we will," he teased tenderly, before pressing a kiss against her lips.

Tony was relieved to see her smiling—he wanted to put her at ease, not only for her comfort, but so that they'd have mind-blowing sex too. Her initial bravado that he'd witnessed at the ball and then again on the willow tree path, was less robust in the daytime. So, "Christine" preferred the cover of night. While he was not allowed to expose her identity, Tony certainly had plans to expose her in other ways. He grinned and hurriedly stripped off his clothes, watching her reaction to his nudity. She appeared to be transfixed, her mouth slightly open when he tore off his shirt. She emitted a tiny moan when he stepped out of his jeans and boxers. His arousal was already very obvious, and it turned him on knowing that it was really Angela, not "Christine" looking at him. Her widened eyes fed his masculine pride, as did the blush that crept along her neck. Tony wondered how he could have not recognized Angela's neck, or her arms and hands for that matter. She hadn't even bothered to change her nail polish—hadn't she been wearing that shade for days now? He shook his head and walked over to her, fully erect and in control.

"Christine" suddenly became somewhat timid. Their previous, furtive couplings in the dark had prevented her from actually seeing him. He was magnificent—his body so strong and muscular—there was power and grace in his movements. And he definitely wanted her. Well, he wanted "Christine", but she'd take it. She'd take him.

"Simon says … ditch the blankets," Tony told her, with a half-smile on his face so she wouldn't feel as though she'd met his bossy twin.

Smiling, "Christine" threw off the covers and made room for him in the large King sized bed. Yeah, 'King sized' was about right, Angela mused, as she stared, amazed at Tony's King-sized manhood. He lay down alongside her and began nuzzling her neck and stroking her breasts. She wriggled beneath his teasing touch, wanting more and soon. She placed her hands on his hard chest, smoothing her fingers over his muscles, then letting her lips follow the path her fingers had taken. Her mouth moved over his collarbone and sought his lips. She kissed him, shyly at first but gradually with more confidence. "Christine" did prefer the dark—she should have thought of that before suggesting the Plaza at midday. However, those fleeting worries quickly evaporated when Tony took her in his arms. The control he exerted amazed her and when he deepened their kisses, she felt her own control slipping away. His mouth was hot and possessive on hers, his tongue darting in and out in a maddening foreshadowing of what was to come. With no restraint left whatsoever, she grabbed two fistfuls of his dark hair and pulled his face to hers with some force now. She wanted to remain joined at the mouth, then join him in other, more intimate ways.

Tony pulled back, with other, naughtier ideas in mind. "You have me at a disadvantage, Madam," he told her sardonically. "You know who I am, but I have no idea who you are. How do you propose we even out this playing field?"

"Huh?" Angela was lost in his touch, no longer able to understand Basic English. "You want to do it in a field again?" she breathed, excited. "I liked that path of willow trees … oh my …" she moaned, because Tony's hand had eased its way between her legs now, touching her most intimately. He was taking his time, bringing her to new peaks of pleasure.

"The willow path was nice," he admitted. "So was the balcony. But nothin' compares to havin' you in this bed, right now. We can take our time," he said. He scooted down on the bed, still fondling her intimately with one hand. His other hand was on her smooth thighs, stroking them, and teasing them apart, further and further, until he could wedge his torso between them. "Hi there," he grinned from down below.

Angela froze. He wouldn't, would he? "Uh Tony … I don't know if I'm comfortable with … _oh my god_ … _oh my god_ …" she screamed, unable to control the upward thrust of her hips now. His hot mouth was at her centre, taking over from his skilled hands. The sensation was insane—she was on fire. She grasped at the bed sheet and twisted it hard. An intense pressure was building inside of her, starting in her belly, and moving down into her thighs. They started shaking uncontrollably.

"You're not comfortable?" he prodded. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No … no, don't stop. Don't ever stop!" she gasped, turning her head from side to side. She couldn't stop moving—the building tension and shaking made her feel like a puppet in Tony's hands, completely out of control. For a moment, she wondered if spontaneous human combustion began like this. Any modest discomfort she'd felt a moment before, melted away beneath his skilled mouth. She surrendered herself to him completely, letting him do whatever the hell he wanted, because she'd never, ever, felt this adored or aroused. "I want us to come at the same time," he declared.

Tony was enjoying himself tremendously. Angela's flushed neck, her pounding heartbeat, restless movements and increasingly louder moans delighted and aroused him. He felt like a masterful musician, playing his instrument to perfection. Her body was responsive and she appeared to have recovered quite nicely from her initial shyness. He'd wanted to do this to her for quite some time … probably since their second anniversary dinner. If only his appendix hadn't burst. Well now, something else was about to burst. He slid his fingers inside of her, feeling her silky wetness. Now definitely seemed like a good time—by all definitions, she was ready. He drew himself up, his hard body hot against hers. Her trembling legs willingly parted even wider. "Now, Tony, now!" she begged.

Angela couldn't think anymore, and when Tony's firm, strong body covered, then joined hers, she was gone. He was a skillful lover, able to bring her to realms of ecstasy at the same time as himself. Together, they cried out, giving each other even more pleasure than she thought humanly possible.

"So, did you like doing it _my way_?" Tony asked her. He loved quoting Sinatra, and was unable to keep the huge grin off of his face. He was proud of himself—he'd knowingly made love to Angela, while letting her carry on her little charade. He looked over at her and smiled at her blissed-out expression. She was sated, unable to move, like a rag doll.

"_Your way_ was definitely the _way to go_, uh, _all the way_," she panted, still breathless. The heavy pounding of her heart was beginning to slow, which was a good thing because her entire body was limp. She wouldn't have been able to move even if there'd been a fire in the hotel. Well, she'd had her own fire just now and a small nuclear meltdown. Had she ever felt like this before? No, she couldn't say that she had. She closed her eyes in bliss, surprised to feel Tony's mouth on her neck. He couldn't possibly have recovered so quickly, could he? Even Italian men need to recuperate, she mused. But Tony wasn't trying to seduce her anew—he was marking her as his. He kissed her neck and gently began sucking, then increasing the pressure of the suction to ensure that she'd have an outrageous hickey.

"What are you doing?" she gasped. "Are you giving me a hickey?" she asked, horrified.

"Well, it's _my way_," he casually informed her.

"But I'm thirty … um, never mind. Teenagers get hickeys, not grown women!" she protested, while pushing his face away from her neck. "I don't want a hickey!" she said, panicked.

"Why? Do you have something to hide?" he probed. Tony examined her neck and smiled wickedly at the huge hickey there. He wondered if Angela would be wearing neck scarves for the next few weeks. How was she going to explain that one?

It was going to be very interesting living in the same house as Angela, pretending that their alter-egos didn't exist. He knew her now, knew her more intimately than he'd ever known any woman. He'd let her have her little masquerade, but not for much longer. Tony couldn't wait to reveal her and claim her as his own.


	5. Chapter 5

A funny thing happened as I was waltzing through the internet last week. I clicked on a story about recipes from the 1950's, a completely innocent story about recipes that kids today might like too. You know when you get to the bottom of a story and there are links for many, many, many other stories? Yeah, so one of the links was to a sex manual from 1680. Thinking I was making this up, because who would link something like that to the previous story, I, of course, had to click on it. It was what it said it was. OK, it was really more of one man's fantasy disguised as a sex manual; but I skimmed enough of it to find a new; well, really old, word for male anatomy: mans yard. I saw that and said, "I am soooooooooo using that word." So when you see it, don't be surprised; and now you know where it came from. Unless of course you haven't read this note, in which case I can do nothing for your surprise. Unless you have scrolled back up looking for an explanation; which you should now have.

Anyway, here's the next chapter, split into four parts. (I think 'mans yard' is used in Part Two.)

Thanks to MsBowerMicelli for her input on the first paragraph.

Phantom Lover

Weekend in "Boston" - Part One

Angela was relieved that upon returning home from Bloomingdale's, she was neither tag-teamed by Tony nor the kids, and while that usually would arouse some suspicion, she, herself, was trying to remain inconspicuous, so she scurried up the stairs, taking them two at a time, still reeling from the pheromonal high induced by her late afternoon tryst with Tony. She put her hand into the Big Brown Bag and pulled out scarf after scarf, every so often giving a side long glance into the full length mirror where "Christine"/ "Angela" stared back at her, brandishing the smile of both the giddy schoolgirl and brazen coquette, all too satisfied for the moment with the mark, and its pervasive hues of red, branding her to the man she had taken as her lover. And branded she was. The curve of his full lips had claimed her as his own. She smiled demurely, remembering the day's climatic events. She wondered if Tony was taking a nap. Maybe she'd exhausted him. Nah, pure energy, that was Tony. Mind and body. He didn't quit until she... Angela again shivered in anticipation. She was again triumphant. Queen of the night- and day.

There was a knock on her door, "Angela?" Tony called.

Angela was so startled she dropped the scarf which floated to the floor the same way her robe had this afternoon. "What is it, Tony?" she answered as she bent down to pick up the scarf and kick the bag behind the bed.

She was nervous, Tony could hear it in her voice. He inwardly jumped for joy; he'd finally obliterated the composed, collected woman Angela usually was.

"You coming down for dinner?"

"I'll be there in a minute." Or five or ten or twenty; however long it took her to pull herself together. Make-up. That's what she needed, something to tone down the blush on her cheeks and help cover up the after-effects of this afternoon on her neck. Angela untied the scarf she used as cover on the way home and looked at the result of Tony's actions. She sank into the chair in front of her vanity and titled her head to get a better look at it. The woman in the mirror looked beautiful...and loved. Her reflection showed her the depth of Tony's feelings, the mark on her neck shouted, "Tony's!" She was very happy to have been claimed. She leaned toward the mirror and gently touched the tender skin and smiled. She couldn't do it; she couldn't cover up this passion with make-up; it was torture enough to cover it with a scarf. She was lost in thoughts of this afternoon, memories of sweet sensations overwhelmed her and she gasped.

"Angela?" Tony knocked again.

He was still upstairs? Angela thought he'd gone away after she told him she'd been down soon.

"You OK?"

She must have gasped more loudly than she thought, great, now she had even more to be embarrassed about. "I'm fine, Tony," she yelled, trying to sound poised.

Tony grinned, thoroughly enjoying Angela trying to cover up her sexual satiation. If they gave out blue ribbons for "Excellence in Female Satisfaction," he would be able to paper his bedroom walls with just the ones Angela alone would give him.

"Dinner's ready," he nudged, trying to get her to say anything. This was a nice change from the past couple of days. Now he was the one who was cool and in control while Angela was trying to keep her 'aching to be acknowledged' libido under control. He liked this change.

"Hey Angela, when I was out running errands today I picked up an album of that show you and Mona saw that you liked so much. You know, the one that everyone is crazy about, "Phantom of the Opera," I thought we could listen to it while we eat dinner." Tony heard something drop in Angela's room. He grinned; mission accomplished. If he didn't watch it he was going to pull a muscle from patting himself on the back. "I'm going to check on dinner now, see you in a few."

In her room Angela picked up the hair brush she'd dropped. He couldn't be serious, could he? Listening to the "Phantom of the Opera" cast recording over a family dinner? She was blushing just thinking about it. Angela had never been terrified of a family dinner before, but this one suddenly sent chills through her and not in the usual good way that Tony had been sending chills through her the past few days. "Oh Tony," she sighed, "why do you toy with me so?" Part of her thought it would be a great idea to run downstairs in her wig and mask announcing the fact that she was "Christine." The sane part of her took a couple of breaths and went to the bathroom to throw some cold water on her face and re-tie the scarf around her neck. The neglected part of her pointed out that she'd been doing her fair share of toying with him, a fact she was conveniently ignoring.

The sounds of the pulsing opening chords wended their way upstairs, enticing Angela with their primal beat. She was just as lost to the music as Christine was, she let the music envelop her and she walked down the stairs as if in a trance, to meet her own Phantom. She felt like she was enacting a scene from the show; it was a pity Tony was in the kitchen and not coming to meet her and bring her to his underground lair. How could he? Suburban Connecticut was not know for its underground lairs, and for certain 3344 Oak Hills Drive had no such lair. Angela had to stop halfway through the living room and pull herself together, if she let the music get to her she was going to throw herself at Tony over dinner. That would lead to some interesting dinner conversation.

Angela took a couple of deep breaths and plastered a smile on her face as she pushed the swinging door into the kitchen, "good evening, family," she said overly brightly. Fortunately the music changed and she could greet them without blushing.

"Hi Mom," Jonathan said, looking up from his plate. She kissed him on top of his head.

"Hi Angela," Sam looked up and smiled, Angela kissed her on the head too.

"Angela," Mona greeted warily and suspiciously, "don't even think about kissing my head."

Angela smirked back at her as she sat down.

"Good evening, Angela, how was your day?" Tony made that sound so innocent; but he was secretly enjoying watching Angela wrestle with a response.

"Fine, thanks." Angela may have been able to make that banal answer, but it was an effort.

"Did you have an inspiring afternoon? You never did call the office," Mona reminded her, rather harshly as she had to spend the afternoon covering for her. If only Mona had known the true reason for Angela's absence, she would have been more than happy to do the covering. "That isn't the scarf you were wearing when you left, is it new, Angela?"

Angela started to choke on her wine, she silently cursed her mother for bringing up her departure from the office, and for happening to notice the new scarf. Tony rushed over to her to pat her on the back, which caused Angela to blush and silently curse Tony for not only arousing suspicion in her mother's mind, but for touching her and flat out arousing her...at the dinner table no less. Oh, Angela's afternoon had been very...inspiring; in fact, Angela couldn't keep this afternoon's inspirations from inspiring more inspiration.

Bullseye. Mona had seen everything she needed to see, the blush in Angela's cheeks said it all. She was less angry with her daughter for deserting her this afternoon; as far as she was concerned sex was the best reason to ditch work. Who was she kidding? Sex was the best reason to ditch anything, especially work. Satisfied that she now had information she wanted, she decided to keep it to herself; at least until she could find a good time to torment Tony and Angela with said information, that is. Until then she'd play along with their little game, and wouldn't even grill Angela about her upcoming 'client meeting' in Boston.

"You ok, Angela?" Sam asked, concerned.

Angela caught her breath, "fine, dear, thank you. And thank you too, Tony," she said trying to get him to, for once, get his hand off her. She didn't really want him to remove his hand, but they were not alone in the kitchen and if he didn't take his hand away soon the consequences could be unfortunate, "I'm fine; really." She looked up to glare at him, but melted when she saw the real concern in his eyes; but he did back away and she missed him immediately. The moment he turned away she ached to have his comforting touch on her again.

"You still haven't answered my questions, Angela," Mona reminded her; she might not want to blow their secret yet, that didn't mean she wasn't going to have a little fun first.

Angela tried not to glare at her, "I did some inspirational shopping this afternoon if you must know, so yes, this is a new scarf."

"Mom? You left the office today? Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"Yes, Jonathan...everyone...I'm fine, really." Fantastic would be more like it. "Can we eat, please?"

"Sure," everyone answered and they continued with the meal. Angela was fine, right up until the point where "The Phantom of the Opera" started playing on the album, then she started blushing some more and longed to kick off her shoe and twine her foot around Tony's, stroking her way up and down his leg until he started to whimper. It would serve him right after his little stunt of playing this recording right now. But of course any sort of footsie was out of the question, so Angela just finished eating as quickly as she could instead and excused herself to her den, leaving a two confused kids and two smugly satisfied adults behind.

The next day:

The messenger was back; poor guy probably knew the route to this house blindfolded by now, "I've been told to wait for a reply on this delivery also." Tony opened the envelope, read the letter and hoped he didn't blush in front of the delivery man.

_Dearest Tony, _

_Thoughts of you consume not only my every waking moment; but you invade my dreams as well. I yearn for you; your touch, your caress, your kiss. Please share a weekend of bliss with me. Late in "Phantom of the Opera" the Phantom has his own opera staged, it is titled, "Don Juan Triumphant." You have triumphed in my heart and I must appropriate Christine's words as they apply to me, "no thoughts within her head but thoughts of joy. No dreams within her heart, but dreams of love." This Friday I will check into the Fairfield Inn under the name "Leroux." I will leave a room key for you at the front desk; meet me in the room at 4pm. Please reply that you will come for as Christine also says, "in my mind, I've already imagined our bodies entwining, defenseless and silent." I ache to be with you. _

_Yours always, _

_Christine_

Tony was almost afraid his hands were going to burst into flames from the heat of this letter. As nonchalantly as he could, Tony put the affirmative reply card into the envelope and sent the messenger on his way. The he reread the letter so many times that he almost had it memorized in a matter of seconds. No matter what, he decided, he was going to have to see this show. Just how erotic was it? If Angela's reaction to the show was any indication, it must be very erotic. Tony smiled, looking forward to a whole weekend they could spend together having their cake and eating it too, he couldn't wait. Tony found only one flaw in Angela's plan: this weekend wasn't a four day weekend.

Tony went through his day, rushing here and there to take care of his responsibilities. On his way home he was stopped at a stop sign close to home when the unmistakable sounds of "All I Ask of You" wafted through the radio. "There's no escape, is there? This show is everywhere," Tony commented to the radio, which had no answer to his comment, no matter how true the comment may be. The show had invaded and every magazine and newspaper had pictures and articles. Billboards everywhere were festooned with the familiar black background with the white mask and red rose. Tony couldn't understand the need for the advertising, with the amount of advance ticket sales and interest this show would probably run for the almost unheard of ridiculous length of ten years.

Tony had read the synopsis of the show that came with the album so he now knew this song was a duet for Christine and her boyfriend, Raoul...not the Phantom. To him, it didn't matter which characters sang it, it was lush and romantic, perfect for the lush and romantic life he and Angela were currently leading.

"No more talk of darkness

Forget these wide-eyed fears

I'm here, nothing can harm you

My words will warm and calm you..."

Tony's attention was rattled by a car horn coming from behind him. He put his mind back into gear and headed for home and stayed in the driveway listening to the rest of the song.

"Let me be your freedom

Let daylight dry your tears.

I'm here with you, beside you,

To guard you and to guide you..."

Say you love me every waking moment

Turn my head with talk of summertime

Say you need me with you now and always

Promise me that all you say is true

That's all I ask of you.

Let me be your shelter

Let me be your light

You're safe, no one will find you

Your fears are far behind you

All I want is freedom,

A world with no more night

And you, always beside me

To hold me and to hide me

Then say you'll share with me

One love, one lifetime

Let me lead you from your solitude

Say you need me with you here, beside you

Anywhere you go, let me go too

Christine, that's all I ask of you

Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime

Say the word and I will follow you

Share each day with me

Each night

Each morning

Say you love me

You know I do

Love me, that's all I ask of you.

Anywhere you go, let me go too.

Love me, that's all I ask of you."

He really needed to see this show; and soon, not ten years from now when tickets _might_ become available.

Friday finally arrived; none too soon for either Tony or Angela. Mona had been commenting on Angela's new scarves constantly; it was almost to the point where Angela wanted to rip off the scarf and say, "Ha ha, Mother! Tony and I have been having an affair right under your nose! In fact, Tony and I have been having and affair right under Tony's nose! See, I have the hickey to prove it!" Of course that wasn't going to happen, but it did give Angela a couple of internal laughs thinking about it.

Tony picked up the promised room key from the front desk, hoping he didn't appear too eager in front of the concierge. The concierge couldn't have cared less, it wasn't his business what went on in the rooms and a nosy person did not last long in the hospitality industry. One more guy picking up a room key was just par for the course for a weekend around here.

Tony wondered how early Angela left work today to be at the hotel before his arrival; but remembered her cover story of being in Boston for the weekend, so she could have checked in at almost any time. He didn't want to keep her waiting, so he eschewed the services of the bellman and found the room himself. He didn't have much luggage with him figuring that there really wouldn't be a point to packing a lot of clothes, so he only brought one suitcase and one other precious box. With Angela putting so much effort into this Phantom fantasy, he wanted to match her dedication, so he did some research on the show as well; not to the point of seeing it yet, because he hadn't had time, but enough to bring Angela gifts pertaining to the show.

Just before Tony slipped his room key into the lock he pulled a tail coat out of his suitcase. He was already wearing the appropriate pants, shirt, vest and tie; which he had covered with a coat when at the front desk, which he was now shedding. If Angela was going all out, and if past encounters told him anything it was that she probably was, he wanted to match her enthusiasm for the game.

He finished his quick change of clothes and opened the door. He instantly knew he made the correct choice by changing as he was greeted by "Christine" looking just as seductive as ever. Tony had done enough research to recognize today's outfit as the one Christine wore when performing in the Phantom's opera. It was sexy beyond belief. The dress itself was a dusty rose color with a very low-cut neckline lined with black lace. Black satin ribbon criss-crossed its way up the bodice to showcase her bosom, which today was accented with a white rose. Flounces of the fabric trimmed with black lace made the skirt. The sleeves were similar to the ones on the robe she was wearing for a short time the other day; they stopped at the elbow and black lace dripped from the elbows to mid-arm. Black stockings (and he was pretty darn sure they were stockings again) and shoes along with the ever-present wig and mask completed the outfit. Where she was getting these costumes he didn't know and he didn't care; all he cared about was getting her out of them. He couldn't wait to loosen those confining ribbons and lift that skirt.

A scarf was not a part of her costume tonight. For this Tony was grateful because he could see the fruits of his labors and how the hot vividness of the colors contrasted with the serene coolness of the undisturbed skin surrounding them. She wasn't hiding the truth now, in fact he swore he could see something in her eyes and in her being, something that said one word: yours. It was true, Angela was his, and they were definitely past the point of no return. Their passion play had now definitely at last begun; darn good thing because even though it had only been a couple of days since their last romantic interlude they had both been eager to indulge in another.

"You look stunning," he managed to sublimate his desire for a few moments to state a truth. He was still a gentleman, no matter how badly he wanted to ravish her; and he did.

"Thanks," she blushed and lowered her head, "you look very nice too," she took the time to respond, no matter how much she wanted him to ravish her; and she did.

"Thanks," Tony answered. Tony parked his suitcase near the door, and it didn't move from there until the weekend was over. He put the precious box he had been carrying on the desk near the door and opened it; the box, not the door. The door remained firmly shut and locked, with the "Do Not Disturb" sign on it. He made a mental note to be sure and take that sign too, to add to his growing collection.

Tony removed his first gift from the box, a de-thorned perfectly blooming red rose.

Angela gasped, deeply touched by the effort he'd obviously made, "Tony, it's beautiful," she said, awed.

He stepped closer and touched the rose to her lips, then slipped it down the soft curve of her cheek. Angela closed her eyes, bit her lip and sighed. The scent of the rose combined with the softness of the petals and Tony's very close proximity was making her weak in the knees.

"Nice?" he asked.

She nodded, "yes, but your touch is nicer." It was true, the sensuous texture of the rose petals was intoxicating, but it still couldn't compare to the warmth and power of Tony's hands.

Tony had an answer for that, he once again claimed her by pulling her close with one arm, drawing the rose down one side of her neck and reverently kissing the badge of his passion on the other side of her neck. Angela didn't know which sensation to react to first, in fact Angela didn't even know her own name at the moment. Tony's arm solidly around her back felt strong and she knew more than anything that his arms would forever be a safe, protective haven for her, demanding that they be the arms to forever shield her from any and all of life's aches and pains. She didn't have a problem with that at all. The rose was soft as it rested against her neck, almost tickling her with its tenderness against the sensitive skin.

But it was the place to which Tony had returned that sent the chills cascading through her. The hickey had been their secret, sacred to them, hidden for days. This secret in itself had been a thrill for her; she loved knowing that under the staid scarves of a business owner was the mark of her lover asserting his masculinity, and she loved his masculinity. Just the thought made her almost swoon. Unbeknownst to Tony, Angela had been admiring his talisman, considering it to be her own tattoo. She liked it; a lot. She liked to look in the mirror in the morning and touch it, just to make sure she hadn't dreamed it overnight. She also looked in the mirror every night; taking a few moments to caress the bruised skin and smiling.

Although Angela enjoyed admiring her hickey, she wished that Tony had been there to admire it with her. The fact that he was finally holding her again and kissing her tender skin was driving her to distraction. Her breath quickened, she struggled against the tight bodice, her breasts were straining against the hard neckline, causing some of the soft flesh to be pushed up higher than the neckline. She was gripping his arms for dear life, and whimpered, "ooooh, Tony."

Tony dropped his arm holding the rose to join his other around her back. Angela now felt even more secure; she was wrapped up in his strong arms and she never wanted to be anywhere else; except for wrapped up in his strong arms in bed, but even she could be a little patient for that at the moment, after all, they had to pace themselves for a weekend of fun.

Tony smiled just before his tongue started drawing little figure eights over the skin he'd already claimed so well. Angela could no longer hold on, her arms went soft in response, then she pleaded, "Tooony," just before her head limply tilted away.

Tony stopped long enough to snuggle her in and kiss her forehead. Angela was torn between wanting to complain about him stopping and wanting to cuddle in even more. Tony unknowingly put an end to her dilemma by putting her rose in her hands, which was almost too difficult a task for her to handle right now and then picking her up and carrying her to the bed. "C'mon, "Christine" we have a couple of lost days to make up for." Lost days? They had lost months, years and if they had waited any longer, maybe even decades to make up for.

Angela loved Tony picking her up; she loved the feeling of his arms around her, she loved knowing where he was carrying her to, she loved his strength, his ability to do this at all; it was so masculine and she melted into him, clutching the rose he'd given her. Somewhere along the journey to bed she kicked off her shoes.

The lost days, months and years overtook them; even though it didn't take long to reach the bed, by the time they arrived there they both wanted to skip the pleasantries and just do what they came here to do. Angela felt herself being placed on the bed, she pulled Tony to her and he almost lost his balance as she did so. He managed to recover enough to sit beside her and snuggle his hand between her knees and caress his way up her thigh.

Angela's lack of control was becoming more pronounced, her breathing became shallower as she reacted to the feel of Tony's hand as it firmly made its way up her leg. Through their own volition, for Angela had none of her own, her legs separated, making Tony's ascent easier. He felt the silkiness of her stocking, then rejoiced even more as he felt the even softer silkiness of her inner thigh. Higher and higher he moved his hand up those legs which had for so long enticed him; they were even more enticing now. As his hand reached its final destination he looked at her face. Even though most of her face was covered by that annoying mask, he could still tell that she was already gone. He had some other evidence for that conclusion as well.

"Oh, Tony," Angela gasped as she felt his hand covering her, his fingers stroking up and down her intimate folds.

They'd waited long enough, they were both beyond ready; anticipation was one hell of an aphrodisiac. Tony hated to do it, but he pulled his hand away from its warm location.

Angela's eyes flicked open and she glared at him, "Tony!"

But Tony was on to the next step of his plan, he was undoing his belt, zipper and flicking off his shoes. Angela was slightly mollified by this, but she still missed his touch. She put an arm out to try and help him, but her strength gave out. It was ok, Tony was quick with his work and in no time he was half-naked. Fortunately for Angela, it was the half she really needed at this point. Tony stood up, offering Angela a rather nice view which made her smile. Then he turned to the bed and tugged Angela over to the side. Finally it was time for him to flip that skirt out of his way, which he promptly did; giving him a rather nice view which made him smile. Still smiling, Angela wrapped her legs around Tony's waist as he adjusted and made her intimate acquaintance, making both of them smile even more.

They had both missed this so much. Eagerly, they found their rhythm, both succumbing to the passion. Tony loved Angela with long, firm strokes; sending her into an ever deeper level of ecstasy. She yearned to touch him, but he was too far away, so she clutched the rose he had given her in his place. "Tony," she whimpered, as her head lopped to the side. Tony leaned forward, moving more deeply into her and causing Angela to moan in delight. He rested his palms on either side of her, finally giving her the chance to wrap her hand around his wrist and hold for dear life as they brought each other to delicious release.

After his sad, but inevitable departure, Tony leaned forward even more and kissed his beloved. Angela even managed to languidly toss an arm around his neck as he did so.

As he pulled away, he heard Angela say something, but wasn't quite sure what she said, so he asked her, "was this 'missed you' or 'miss you'"?

"Both," she whispered, unable to speak any louder.

He kissed her cheek and got his arms underneath her to move her back to the middle of the bed as there was no way she could make it there under her own power. He then got into bed himself and laid on his side; she snuggled in to him, adrift in bliss and still holding his gift of a rose.

She longed to say, "I love you," but daren't ruin their game. They quietly cuddled, both grateful to be together again. How long they stayed lost in rapture neither really knew, or cared.


	6. Chapter 6

Weekend in "Boston" - Part Two – Friday – Later

When they finally returned to earth, Tony grinned.

"What?" his paramour asked.

"We have all weekend."

"Yes, we do," she agreed with his statement of the obvious.

"Means I can take a nice long time getting you out of those clothes."

"Why would you want to take your time?" There was that impatient Christine again, as far as she was concerned all her clothes should be removed immediately.

"Sweet seduction, Christine, sweet seduction."

"Did you miss the fact that I was seduced before you even opened the door?"

He caressed the side of her cheek, "not at all, and if anything we just proved that your clothes are no hindrance to...physicalizing that seduction; but I have plans for undressing you." He said that last bit with such a tone that a small "oh" of anticipation escaped Angela's lips.

Tony grinned again, then leaned a little closer to capture her lips with his own. "Christine" seemed to like that as she dropped her rose and clasped her hands around his neck, running them both up and down the back of his head. Tony concentrated (as best he could) on exploring her lips; doing so much more than only touching them with his own, he kissed and nipped and licked and when his tongue wanted to do more exploring it slipped past her lips to join her own, thereby inciting more passion as their mouths could not get enough of each other. This small prelude catapulted their stroking to another level. Angela moved a hand down to touch Tony's ear and neck; if it had been at all possible to scream his name she would have. Tony leaned in more and traced the curve of Angela's hip.

Angela wanted more and impatient "Christine" made sure she got it. Her hands pulled away from Tony to find the edges of his tail coat so she could push that jacket off of him. Tony may want to take his time undressing her, but she was under no such obligation concerning his clothes; and as far as she was concerned, Tony should be naked as quickly, and more importantly, as often, as possible. Tony felt her hands grabbing at the coat and sat up, pulling Angela up with him by placing an arm around her back. Now that they were both sitting up, clothing removal could commence unabated. Angela wasted no more time, she grasped the lapels of Tony's jacket and pushed. Tony had to reluctantly move his arm away from her, such was the sacrifice that had to be made for nudity. The tail coat made a satisfying thud as it hit the floor. Angela then haphazardly pulled at the bow tie, quickly finding the proper end to tug, which she promptly did. The tie greeted the jacket on the floor.

All through this, the kissing never stopped. Tony continued to delve into her mouth, giving her a taste of the coming attractions; his hands were splayed across her back, covering as much area as they could.

Angela found the buttons for his vest, which wasn't easy because they were small and well-hidden; but buttons were not an obstacle to a woman on a mission. She forcefully unbuttoned the vest, loosening it from Tony's broad shoulders. "Damn it," they both thought, because now Tony had to take his arms from around her so the vest could wind up on the floor too. It was another sacrifice for romance that had to be done, and the quicker it was over, the better. As if they read each other's thoughts, Tony moved his arms leaving Angela the chance to remove the vest, which she did.

His shirt. It was time to address Tony's shirt. Angela had to take a breather, she didn't want to; but she was going to start hyperventilating if she didn't. "Sorry, Tony," she said as she pulled away. Her face was flushed, her cheeks crimson; if only Tony had been able to fully see the excitement he'd caused.

Tony leaned over to nibble on her earlobe, causing Angela to sigh, "oh, Tony," and put her arms on his neck for support. The shirt was going to have to wait for a few minutes as Tony took his time flicking his tongue back and forth over that little bit of tender flesh.

Shirt. He was still wearing that blasted shirt. Angela had to focus; she needed him out of that shirt, now, as it was barricading her from his exquisite chest. "One hand, Angela," her mind encouraged, "just one, just move it over to the top button." Angela actually managed to obey the voice in her head. "Good job," it congratulated when she finally latched on to the first button; only to realize in sinking frustration that he was wearing studs. Yes, her stud was wearing studs.

Tony felt her deflate, but he had already thought this out. He carefully pulled away and gave her a quick kiss. Feeling a little saucy, he looked at her, his eyes twinkling and popped that first stud out of the shirt. He quickly worked his way down, exposing the skin and muscles Angela desperately wanted to see...and touch, and kiss, and caress, and...anything else she could think of. Maybe she'd even turn the tables and give him a hickey.

Once the shirt studs were gone, Angela had free rein to place her hands on his chest, which she did. Her palms softly glided across his sculpted muscles, letting herself fully appreciate every plane of his body.

Angela enjoyed touching under his shirt, but she was just as impatient as Christine so she moved up to his shoulders. She knew she had something in mind when she moved her hands up there, but the thought disappeared when confronted with the majesty of Tony's shoulders. She had to give herself a few moments to fully appreciate them as well. Tony watched as she slowly caressed him, he smiled at the feeling and at the fact that Angela was so happy.

"Nice," she sighed as she paused to rest her head on one of those shoulders. Tony kissed the top of her head in thanks and put an arm around her.

Angela finally remembered what she brought her hands up to his shoulders to do. Keeping her head where it was, she pushed the shirt off his opposite shoulder, and down the length of his arm. Now that he was even more naked, she smiled ever more. Her smile turned to a short-lived frown however, when she could not get the sleeve off his wrist. She had to tear herself away from her comfy spot on his shoulder to investigate.

"Cuff links?"

"If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right."

"Funny, I thought we had been doing it right. Certainly felt that way anyway."

He chuckled, but agreed. "You want me to get rid of the cuff links?"

Cuff links, he even went so far as to wear cuff links. It was a great touch, and at any other time they'd look great on him. They looked great on him now; but they were a trifle inconvenient.

"No, I'll do it," she answered, "that way you don't have to move your arm. Which would be convenient because I don't want you to."

"'K," he answered, drawing her even closer.

Tony brought his wrist up closer to Angela and she wasted no time in removing both the cuff link and the sleeve. Tony was amused by her speed.

"Guess we are going to have to move..."

"Not necessarily," she interrupted him, there was no way she was giving up the cozy spot she was in, even to get him naked. To solve their problem she simply reached her opposite arm around and found the second cuff link. She didn't need to look at it to unfasten it. The cuff link joined its brother and Angela completed her "Get Tony Naked" mission by pulling the sleeve down his arm. She did make a slight concession to necessity and barely moved away from him so the shirt could come off.

"Goodbye, shirt," Angela said, feeling that was a fair address as she tossed it with the rest of his clothes. Then she looked up at him and kissed him. It felt so good to feel his strong, naked arms around her. This was sweet, sweet seduction and at this point neither felt any impatience to rip off Angela's clothes; after all, they had all weekend. They took their time, each gently caressing the other as they nuzzled.

Tony eventually picked up the temporarily forgotten rose and kissed it, then he touched the rose to the tender curve of Angela's neck and moved the rose down to follow the low neckline of her bodice. Angela gasped. Tony touched the red rose to the white rose placed in the center of the bodice. "Lucky rose," he said.

"Hmmm?" a discombobulated Angela asked.

Tony was pleased, "I said this rose was a lucky rose, having such a delicious location," he teased.

Angela was gripping the sheets for strength, "it doesn't have dibs; in fact you have dibs on every location."

He smiled, "well, if you insist." Tony carefully removed the white rose and placed it in his hand with the red rose. His mouth took the place of the rose, causing Angela to throw her arms around him. Tony touched the small of her back while he attended to the sweet spot between her breasts. The bodice was tight and it pushed her breasts together giving Tony's tongue a delightful valley to explore. He kissed and nipped at this sweet spot, feeling Angela's breath become shallower and shallower through the combination of her tight bodice and his earnest attentions.

"Tony," she cried in a state of sexual frenzy. How could this man reduce her to two-syllable words in no time flat? It was a question beyond Angela's capabilities at the moment. Right now she couldn't even stay seated so she let go of him and succumbed to the welcoming pillows.

Tony smiled and moved over her. He took several moments to trace the neckline of the bodice with both roses, which, if judging by Angela's soft moan, she liked very much; but not as much as she liked it when he kissed his way along that neckline and all over her exposed skin.

"T...T...T...," was about all she could manage to say.

Tony touched the roses to the inside of her wrist and drew them up her forearm while he continued to kiss the soft curves of the tops of her breasts.

Angela wondered if it was possible to faint from bliss. Tony may be patient, but she wasn't, she needed out of this bodice. While she couldn't pass out from bliss, she could from lack of oxygen and that was something she needed to bring to Tony's attention.

"Can't...breathe..."

Tony heard the barely audible words, but they took a moment to register. When they did, Tony dropped the roses and pulled away quickly, desperately untying the black ribbon he'd been wanting to untie for so long. In a flash, Angela felt the bodice give way to Tony's determined tugging.

"Thanks," she smiled.

"Far be it from me to argue with anything that gives you an even more seductive look." He leaned in to kiss her.

Angela expected him to remove the bodice completely at this point; but Tony was sticking to his "Sweet Seduction" plan. He further loosened the bodice so that it was almost falling off her, then he tucked one hand up underneath the bottom of the bodice and felt his way up her midriff until he covered a soft breast, He rested his hand there for a moment, feeling her tenderness underneath him; then he petted her, gently stroking. He could feel her nipple harden even more under his touch.

This was doing nothing to help Angela recover her equilibrium; it was only causing her to lose control over her breathing...again. His hand underneath her bodice granted them and even deeper intimacy; adding a sense of secrecy to his seduction. They both knew what was happening under the bodice, but its being covered gave the seduction a mysterious overtone.

Tony was once again patient to the point of almost driving Angela to complete distraction. He took his time gently kneading her, only moving to adore her neglected breast when he felt the first nipple at the peak of its hardness. His hand curled around her, leaving his thumb to circle her nipple, teasing it to a proud point. He gently squeezed her tender flesh, watching her face as she finally relaxed and let him take this at his pace. Patience was a virtue and she was learning just how fun this virtue could be.

After a very long while, Tony removed his hand from under her bodice, leaving Angela to feel bereft. She wouldn't feel that way for long as Tony was positioning himself to finally free Angela from that confining bodice. He slowly pulled the ribbon from the eyelets it was laced through; one eyelet at a time. The lovely criss-crosses that the ribbon had created were disappearing with each flick of his wrist. The sound of the ribbon as it swished through the metal was a forceful whoosh; it was as if it was saying, "make no mistake about it, this is a woman being undressed for carnal purposes. And those are the best purposes." With each swoosh Angela felt the bodice becoming looser and looser.

Tony finally reached the bottom two eyelets; one more pluck and the ribbon would be no more than a lax thread, carelessly tossed aside. He paused to look Angela in the eye and grinned, then, more quickly than Angela expected, he pulled the ribbon from the eyelets causing the bodice to fall open. He grinned even more as he dropped the ribbon on the bed and regarded the beautiful vision before him.

He pushed away any remaining part of the bodice that had the nerve to not fall off her completely, giving him an unobstructed path from Angela's waist on up. He placed both hands on her waist and followed this unobstructed path, if he lingered over her breasts she certainly didn't seem to mind. In fact, if Tony were to guess by her soft moans, it was likely that she enjoyed his dawdling along the path.

He moved one hand away to steady himself and brought his lips to her neck, kissing his way from her collarbone down to cover her sweet breast with his mouth. He moved his tongue around the circle of her femininity while still caressing the other with his hand.

"Tony, oh," he heard her say though a haze.

He kept to his word of patient undressing as he continued to take his time concentrating his attention on her nipples, he was fascinated by their hardness as it was such a contrast to the softness of her breasts. He flicked his tongue quickly over her. Angela wondered what he would do if she asked him to give her a hickey there. She'd like that, she wouldn't have to cover it over with a scarf and it would be a treasured secret between the two of them. She'd get great satisfaction from that secret, going through her day pretending to be a no-nonsense business woman while all the time proudly bearing another talisman of her lover's hold on her; but she was in no shape to verbalize the request.

Tony switched his mouth to lavish some attention on her other side for a while. He kissed her repeatedly, thinking that of all Angela's soft skin, her breasts had to be the softest. He licked up, from bottom to tip, circling around her nipple every time he reached the top.

"mmm," a contended sigh broke the quiet in the room.

This evening was a marathon and Tony was a great long distance runner; he paced himself, devoting his time to the thorough adoration of his beloved. He kissed all around, then grabbed the roses again and guided them on the same journey his hands had long ago taken from her waist to her neck. Angela's sharp intake of breath at the unexpected sensation told him she like the feel of the roses against her skin. Tony dangled the roses over her, sometimes just barely touching her, other times giving the bud a little more pressure on her.

Her response was more than he could have hoped for, her cheeks were red, her lips moist; but most importantly her eyes were gazing at him with tender devotion and that was better than all her other responses combined. He hated to have to do this, but as much as he liked her outfit, and he did; naked was better. "Hon, much as I would love to get this top off you without you having to move, that's just not going to work."

She smiled at him and sat up, and if her hand just happened to brush over his resting mans yard, well, 'accidents' do happen. She grinned wickedly at him as he caught his breath. She loved being able to affect him so. Impatient "Christine" was back and she didn't wait for Tony to take her top off, she dropped it off her shoulders herself. Tony wasn't going to let her have all the fun, he guided the bodice down the rest of her arms, making sure to keep his open palms on her arms all the way to the tips of her fingers. The bodice was tossed on a side chair.

Unencumbered by half of her clothing, Angela moved to lay back down; but paused to make sure that this time Tony knew that touching him was no accident. She went beyond touch into full strokes. Now it was Tony's turn for his breathing to become shallow. Although Angela liked feeling his strength in the palm of her hand, she was in no hurry to rush through this either, so she gave him a little kiss and resumed her previous position.

Tony leaned back down to extend his appreciation of her, he picked up the roses and traced his way up one of her arms, across her collar bone; then dipped down to stroke one breast with the roses while kissing the other, switching every so often. It was a combination Angela could enjoy for quite some time; and as Tony was in no hurry to stop, she (and he) did enjoy the sensation for quite some time.

After taking their sweet time, Tony moved down to rid Angela of her skirt. Temporarily placing the roses aside, he nudged his way between the luscious legs of his beloved and felt his way up her legs, past the tops of her stockings to cup one over her and attend to her warmth. She wasn't just warm, she was hot and Tony was spurred into removing her skirt as quickly as possible, even though that meant he had to tear his hand away from its comfy resting place.

But tear away Tony did, reaching his hands around her back (and with a little lift from Angela) he unfastened her skirt and pulled it down her legs, leaving Angela wearing only the garter belt and the stockings. Tony grinned, the roses were about to make another appearance, Tony separated them, using one for each leg. They made almost the same journey his hands recently had, but this time he started at her ankles and lingered around the tops of the stockings. He completed the journey to the top of her legs, bringing the roses back together to touch her centre. Angela gripped the sheets and swallowed. Tony moved the roses up and down, bringing Angela to the point where she whimpered, "Tony."

Tony let go of the roses, leaving them to rest between her legs. He released the garters holding up one stocking; then the others. The garter belt itself was unhooked next and tossed aside. Tony grasped the top of one stocking and guiding it down with his hands circling her leg, slipped it off. He then slowly repeated the gesture with the other, leaving Angela completely and beautifully naked. He smiled, leaned over her and kissed her tenderly. Then he moved the roses out of his way and confirmed Angela's vow that his touch was much better than the roses as he entered her.

The song had come true, their bodies were now entwined. A gentle stroke or two was quickly turned in to fervent thrusts bringing them both to the brink. "Tony," Angela cried as he slowed a little, but he was only preparing for the final moments of intense friction, bringing them both to climax.

He kissed her cheek.

"Tony," she moaned softly.

He rolled over and pulled her close, keeping her safe in his arms while she was lost in the world of post-coital bliss. Tony looked at her, she was so serene; and that made him even more protective. She was his and he would do anything to keep her safe. Anything.

Angela eventually came down from her high, she noticed some forgotten treasures and decided that turnabout was fair play. She reached for the roses and meandered her way across Tony's shoulders with them. His sharp intake of breath told her they were just as effective on him as they were on her. "Niiice," he said, "but you're right, not as nice as your touch." She kissed him and quickly dragged the roses across his chest; then pulled something surprising, she touched the roses to the marks on his back.

"Someone was overly passionate," she teased.

"Hmm, I wonder who; and I wouldn't use the word 'overly'."

She smiled, "you want me to kiss them and make them all better?"

Tony closed his eyes briefly, "well, if you feel you must, I certainly wont stop you."

She grinned, "sit up."

They both sat up, then Angela shocked Tony, instead of simply kissing him she sat behind him and put her arms around him, her front to his back. Tony had to bite his tongue to keep from calling out, "Angela," and ruining everything.

Angela slowly moved her body up and down against his back, "better?" she asked.

"Uh huh," his capacity for speech was now greatly diminished. Turnabout really was fair play.

Angela kissed him near his shoulder, then trailed kisses all the way down one of the marks she'd left on him, and back up again on another. Then she traced the marks with the roses. Tony definitely felt much better. She kissed his strong back again, then rested her chin on his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him, giving her the opportunity she wanted the most. She took this opportunity to touch the roses to the tip of Tony's manhood and slowly stroked them up to his body.

She peeked up to look at his face, he was smiling; broadly, "now I know why roses are so associated with love," he said.

Angela kissed his neck and returned her attention to his lower charms, idly stroking those roses up and down till he was overcome with passion again and turned around and kissed her. Angela dropped the roses and they spent the rest of the afternoon kissing and caressing.


	7. Chapter 7

Weekend in "Boston" - Part Three – Friday, a little later

At some point they ordered food, as they did have to keep their strength up. After dinner, which they ate naked in bed, Tony retrieved the box from the desk, he put the box on the night table and pulled out a small, beautifully wrapped box. He snuggled back into bed and presented the gift to Angela.

"Thanks," she said, her eyes glittering; she hadn't expected presents and considered the rose itself to be a thoughtful gift, she couldn't imagine anything else Tony could possibly give her. Far too slowly for Tony's patience, Angela unwrapped the present. She almost cried when she saw a bottle of "Phantom" perfume. The man had obviously been paying attention. She leaned to him and put an arm around him to kiss him, thoroughly. "Thank you," she whispered when she finally pulled away.

"You're welcome," he answered as he opened the perfume bottle.

"I'm not sure the scent will work on you, Tony," she smiled.

He laughed at her joke, "I'm making a fantasy come true."

Angela was floored, she never expected to be the object of anyone's fantasies, let alone Tony's. "You fantasize about me?" she tentatively asked, still not believing he fantasized about her.

"All the time. One time I almost put sugar instead of salt in the soup." Tony almost slipped up here, he almost said he'd been fantasizing about her for years. While true, this was nothing he could share with "Christine."

Angela was beaming, "I've distracted you from cooking?" Never had she thought she had this much influence on him.

"It's difficult to concentrate on food when I'm thinking about you wearing this perfume and nothing else."

"Oh," Angela slipped back onto the pillow, blushing at the thought of wearing that perfume and nothing else. Tony pushed the covers off both of them. Here she was once again naked before him and the way he was looking at her simultaneously made her want to throw the covers over herself to avoid his intense gaze or pull him closer, she wasn't sure which and was in no state to make a decision.

Tony leaned over to dab the perfume behind her ears, then proceeded to the hollow of her neck. Angela felt as though she was being anointed; once again being claimed by this man. It was a claim she eagerly agreed to. Tony then put a drop in the tender bend of each elbow, sliding his hand down her arm he applied more perfume to his thumb then swirled his thumb around the sensitive skin of each inner wrist. Angela sank deeper and deeper into bliss, her breathing becoming shallower and shallower while the blush in her cheeks became more and more pronounced.

He touched a drop of perfume to her belly button which made her smile, then drew his hand down to her inner thighs where he dabbed the perfume then spent a considerable amount of time massaging up, down and all around, combining the scent of the perfume with her natural scent. It was an intoxicating combination to Tony and it was difficult for him to stop, but he did eventually pause long enough to continue his perfume application by dosing a generous amount on the backs of her knees, then slowly moved down to conclude at the intricate structure of her ankles. Angela was almost shaking with desire by the time he finished this simple act; she was never going to be able to think of perfume in a mundane fashion again; thank goodness.

"Tony," she said, craving his lips and even more of his touch. Tony set the bottle on the nightstand, he had intended to give Angela the other gift right now; but Angela's unexpected highly titillated response to the perfume meant that had to be put on hold.

There she was, a fantasy come true; Angela naked before him, wearing nothing but that perfume. Naked except for that infernal mask and wig, that is. The mask was starting to irritate him; he wanted to see all of Angela, not just her body. Not that he had any objections whatsoever to seeing her naked body; he just wanted more. He wanted her. He wanted to see her emotions as they played across her face. He wondered how much longer they were going to keep up this charade.

These were all quick thoughts that were kicked out of his head as he looked at the beautiful woman in repose, patiently waiting for him. That was a surprise, "Christine" was usually anything but patient. She held out her hand to him. So much for patience. Tony took her hand and caressed it, she smiled up at him and pulled. Tony chuckled and let go of her hand so he could lean over her. "Better?" he asked as his face lingered about hers.

"Yes," she whispered, "I wish we could stay in this room forever."

"We might be missed," he pointed out, reluctantly.

Angela sighed, "pity, because I really wouldn't mind never leaving here."

He touched her cheek, "I wouldn't mind either," then to reinforce his words he kissed her languidly, taking his time to explore every tender curve of her lips and mouth. Angela sank into the pillows, accepting his caresses. She trailed her fingers down his strong back and felt the scratches she'd marked him with the other day. A warmth came over her as she enjoyed the knowledge that she'd claimed him just as much as he claimed her. They belonged to each other; heart to heart, soul to soul, body to body. They continued to kiss for they certainly had no reason to stop.

Some time later, Tony pulled away, for what he intended to be only a fast repositioning before returning to the kissing. He gave Angela a quick kiss on the tip of her nose as he moved even more completely on top of her.

"Oh, you feel sooo good, Tony," she said as she drifted her toes up his muscular calf.

"Yeah?" he said as he nipped at her collarbone.

"Yeah," she sighed, "so safe, so protected...nothing can get me when you're around."

This surprised him, he had expected she was only referring to physical pleasure; but her telling him that she was important to her in more than a physical sense, sent a shot of gratitude through him that he returned to her by recommencing the kissing, an act she thoroughly endorsed. They were lost to each other, indulging in the sense of touch; unable to get enough of each other, even though the full lengths of their naked bodies were pressed against each other. Unhampered skin touched skin all the way down to their toes, creating new delights and sensations for both of them. Their passion escalated as they continued to kiss and stroke each other.

Tony was in a dilemma, Italian though he may be, even he had his limits and right now he was down for the count. Why did it seem like there were times that men and women were so incompatible? A man has a built-in cycle for sex; but a woman, once turned on, there was no stopping her until she was damn good and ready to stop. Although, Tony reflected, that was probably for the best, for if a man had the same sex drive as a woman they'd never get out of bed, and then where would civilization be?

An idea popped into his head, a way to solve this 'problem'. Tony rolled off Angela causing her to protest this action, vehemently.

"It's ok," he soothed, as he pulled both of them up to a seated position.

"No, it's not," she pouted.

"Damn, you're cute," he said just before giving her little kiss. "C'm'ere," he cajoled as he put one strong arm around her and pulled her close. Angela cuddled in and rested her head on his shoulder as she let her hand indulge in exploring the delightful muscles of Tony's chest, an action Tony had absolutely no objection to. He dropped his hand to her knee and caressed the silky interior of her leg as he lifted it to rest over his own. He then quickly moved this hand up to rest on the soft but powerful centre of Angela's passion. He looked at her and she nodded, opening her legs a little more and moving one arm around his back and the other around his neck to hold on.

She sighed as she felt his fingers slip in and bit her lip in ecstasy, her body melted onto Tony's in desire, he strengthened his arm in support of her; but his primary focus was on her white-hot intimacy. The one advantage he had at the moment was control, his fingers had a dexterity he could use to bring Angela to the brink of climax, then back away; which he did. He stroked and fondled, enjoying the welcome of her sanctuary. He could take his time, and truly experience the joy of feeling Angela slip further and further into delicious oblivion. Her descent was accented by an occasional frantic, "Tony!" and fevered whimpers. Tony accepted these gifts from his beloved and continued to stroke her, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, sometimes shallowly, other times as deeply as he could. He bent his fingers to give her a different sensation, one which she acknowledged with a low moan. His manly pride extended this coupling for as long as he could; it was only his sensing that Angela was close to a final climax that induced him to longer, firmer strokes that brought her over the edge.

He felt her release around him, her body shuddering as waves of passion engulfed her. "Tony," she managed to cry as she lifted her head to kiss him just before giving in and collapsing back onto the bed, completely spent; but very, very satisfied.

Tony looked at her and smiled, she was so beautiful. He leaned over and gently kissed her.

Angela may have looked at peace, but her thoughts were a jumble. She was thrilled that she and Tony were in bed together, finally. But there was another realization that this weekend would end their trysts. Tony would not hear from Christine again. She was sad for she wanted nothing more than to continue this; but the masquerade was taking its toll, she couldn't keep up the game any longer. Even though she knew deep down that Tony knew "Christine" was Angela, her heart was breaking from having to resort to subterfuge in order to explore the feelings they both wished to explore. It was over, finished; on Sunday, at least. They'd go back to the relationship they always had and pretend that "Christine" never existed. How she'd ever go back to that mundane relationship after the passion they'd shared, she had no idea; but she knew it had to be done.

As they drifted off to sleep, poor Angela could not have known that they truly were past the point of no return.


	8. Chapter 8

Phantom Lover

Weekend in "Boston" - Part Four – Saturday Morning

Angela woke up to warring sensations; the damn mask was scratching her face, an unforeseen consequence of wearing it overnight. Having never spent this much time with Tony in her "Christine" persona, she never knew until now how uncomfortable the blasted thing was. It was definitely not something that could be defined as night-clothes. The wig was weighing down on her too, suddenly feeling heavy, as though the whole weight of the secret of her identity was suffocating her. In a way it was.

On the much more positive side, for the first time in her life she woke up in Tony's arms. This was a very pleasant sensation that she couldn't wait to repeat tomorrow. He was still asleep so she took a moment to enjoy the warmth of his arm around her. She watched his chest rise and fall with his steady breathing. Her body tingled as she admired his peaceful face; she longed to touch and kiss him, but didn't want to wake him. So she gazed at him, still a little in awe that they'd managed to have a sexual relationship at all. She silently swore to keep these memories sacred as she was sure she would need them to get her through future lonely nights.

The warring sensations were back, but this time, they were emotional. Angela didn't want to break up with Tony, but she knew she had to. Her heart was breaking as she knew that beyond this weekend they could not continue this charade. In her future she saw only bleak, lonely nights; a stark contrast to the bliss she'd been blessed with the past week. Sadness was close to winning out, but she pushed it away, telling herself to focus on the happiness of this weekend.

To that end, Angela got up the nerve to lightly touch his lips; she got the shock of her life when he kissed her finger.

"Morning," he said.

"You scared me. How long have you been awake?"

"Not long, you?"

"Not long," she pulled away, suddenly nervous about facing the morning after with him.

"Where are you going?" he asked before she could turn away completely.

"Nowhere, I mean...I don't know what I mean." The only thing she did know was that she was crazy for ever instigating this in the first place. It was easy to have sex with Tony then disappear; but waking up next to him brought a whole new level to the game, an intimacy she didn't expect. An intimacy she wanted, but knew she couldn't keep.

Tony saw her nervousness, "I like waking up next to you," he said as he put an arm around her to hug her. "He would say something that sweet, and directly to the point of my dilemma," she thought, but only said, "I like waking up next to you too." Tony saw this as a definite step in the right direction, maybe soon they would be able to drop the pretense and just be together as Tony and Angela.

"I never did get a chance to give you your other present yesterday...not that I am complaining about other time-consuming activities, mind you."

Angela blushed profusely. Tony placed his hands on her reddening cheeks and kissed her, which Angela loved, but was sad about too; things had become too intimate between them and she was torn between wanting to run home or staying here forever. Of course she was completely beyond rational thought and therefore the thought that running home wouldn't be an escape from this situation never occurred to her. All she knew right now was that Tony was kissing her with a deep passion, a passion that only sent her to deeper and deeper levels of desire.

He finished his kiss good morning and was very happy to see Angela lapse into a tender state of love. He tenderly placed an arm around her and snuggled back into the pillows with her. Angela let herself enjoy the feeling of being held closely to him. Keeping one arm around her tightly, Tony used the other to reach over to the night stand and grab the present.

"For you," he said.

Angela was already close to a complete sensual implosion and this gift only inflamed her love even more. How dare he go and be thoughtful?

"Tony, you didn't have to do this."

"Wanted to, c'mon; open the present."

They sat up, "thank you," she said as she took the gift from his hand. In his eyes she saw anticipation and eagerness for her to open the present. This wasn't good, she was falling more in love with him by the second. Her hands shaking, she ripped off the paper. He touched her hand, "you want help opening the box?"

She shook her head, the last thing she needed right now was Tony's touch, just his hand touching hers was creating thoughts that had her delaying the opening of this present until later. "No, I'll do it," she answered, her voice shaky too.

"OK," he pulled his hand away and Angela missed him.

She opened the box to see...tissue paper. She moved the tissue paper and saw glass. No wonder Tony wanted to help her, he didn't want to see whatever this was dropped and shattered. Angela took a deep breath to pull herself together. She put her hand in the box and pulled out...a glass box. She pushed the tissue paper off to see a glass box, trimmed with gold and a painted red rose on top. Inside the box, she noticed something; this was a music box. She opened the lid and the notes to the song "Masquerade" started playing. Of course, he would pick a song from the show, and such an appropriate one for them.

"Tony, it's beautiful, thank you," she looked at him, close to tears. He was beaming, so glad that she liked the present. Angela gripped the music box and with the music still playing she held it between them as she kissed him; and she was definitely kissing him. Tony was a little surprised at the strength of her ardor, but recovered quickly and put his arms around her, stroking her back while they continued to kiss.

She had to stop, she was overwhelmed by him, the present, her love. Angela pulled away, crying.

"Everything's ok, don't cry," he touched her cheek, frustrated that the mask was still there and he couldn't comfort her as she should be comforted. He made a bold move, he touched the mask, "maybe it's time to get rid of this," he ventured.

Angela recoiled, "no!" In one hand she clutched the music box to her, the other she put on the mask to guard against him taking it off. Tony backed away, he raised his hands, open palmed in front of her, "ok, don't worry," I won't touch it again." Truth to tell he was a little disappointed, he was hoping she'd let him remove that mask, that barrier between them, the wall that made their dalliance safe. He didn't want safe anymore, he wanted honesty. He wanted Angela in his arms.

"Will you let me hold you?" he asked tentatively.

Nodding and still shaking, she protectively curled her arms over each other, still holding the music box. It wasn't the best way to hold her, but at least she was letting him hold her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," he soothed.

"You didn't."

"I didn't? Then why are you crying?"

"Because I'm so happy."

Of course, that made perfect sense; or it least it would have if Angela had let herself finish the thought with the rest of the truth by saying, "I'm so happy and it has to come to an end." But she didn't say that, leaving a confused Tony holding her.

Angela decided they were wasting time; they only had this precious weekend, why was she wasting it by crying. She dried her tears and put the music box back on the night stand. Then she slid back onto the pillow, putting one hand on Tony's shoulder on her way to pull him on top of her. Still confused, but not averse to the situation, Tony kissed her. She was over the edge, her emotions raw and powerful. Tony moved his kisses all over her, not wanting to neglect one inch of her beautiful skin. His hands caressed her as his mouth seared her tender skin with his kisses.

She moaned in ecstasy, wanting him in every way imaginable; she stroked his arms and shoulders, wanting him to be just as aroused as she was. He was. He nuzzled her breasts, giving them the time they deserved by touching, kissing and anointing them with his acrobatic tongue.

"Ooooh...Tony...," she said.

Tony dropped one hand in between her legs, which eagerly parted for him. She was very aroused, he furthered her arousal by cupping his hand over her and feeling her. His fingers spread to fondle the tops of her thighs. His kissed his way down her belly, replacing his hand with his mouth. His tongue darted from side to side, furthering Angela's arousal.

Her whole body was pulsing with desire; she needed him, all of him...now.

"Tony," she begged.

"Hmm?" was the only answer he could give.

"Want...you...," oh, why was he so far away? "Stop."

It was as if cold water had been thrown on him, he stopped immediately and looked up at her, with a very questioning look on his face. She patted up by the pillow and sat up.

"Something wrong?" he asked as he moved up to sit where she'd indicated.

"Not a thing...I can't wait," she blushed.

He smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek, planning to lean her back on the bed, so she wouldn't have to 'wait' any longer. Far be it from him to deny a woman in need; but Angela resisted his gentle push. He pulled away, with another questioning look on his face. She was blushing; and nervous. Why she was nervous he had no idea.

"Um, could you...I mean...would you...," she took a deep breath, and said very quickly, "lean up against the headboard and then I'll come over you and you can bring your knees up and we'll be face to face?"

She just wanted a different position? Why would she be nervous about that? "Of course, hon; did you think I would say no?"

She shrugged, "you never know."

Tony propped a pillow against the headboard and sat up against it. Angela was almost disappointed that since it was morning and Tony was a man, well, he didn't need help from her to be aroused. If she had been thinking at all she would have realized that Tony's full arousal was due to her. She did take a moment to caress the hardness of him, which he appreciated; then wondered why she was only admiring him when she could have him completely. She gave his member a quick kiss, then followed through with her plan to be straddled over him.

She settled over him so easily, her femininity surrounding his masculinity. "Oh," she said as they paused for a moment upon attaining full connection.

Tony admired this magnificent woman, she was his angel, there was no doubt about that. He caressed her thighs, moving his hands up her hips, then inward to enjoy the curve of her waist. He brought his knees up and she leaned back against them. Angela was at her wit's end, she wanted to sink into his chest, put her arms around him and cuddle; but another part wanted him to see her. This moment was as honest as she could be with him and she wanted to share it with him, no matter how nervous it made her. Honesty won out.

"You're beautiful," he said, making her blush even more. She watched his eyes as they thrust against each other. He was looking at her with such love, touching her with such gentleness. He cupped his hands over her breasts and she almost came right then. "Oooh," she sighed. His thumbs circled her nipples as they continued to entice each other to greater sexual heights. Faster and faster they worked together, Tony moved his hands to her waist and kissed around her neck; she dropped her arms around him, moaning in ecstasy. They were close, "yes, Tony, yes," she whispered in his ear. Their bodies were in sync, moving together to mutual bliss. Angela climaxed, sending Tony into the stratosphere for his own release.

"Angela," he yelled without thinking, heedless to the consequences. Trying to catch his breath, he buried his face in her neck, "Angela," he said again. He didn't even know he'd said her name once, let alone twice; he certainly hadn't planned to.

"Tony," she said limply, her head dropping onto his shoulder.

They were both so lost in rapture that neither of them realized their cover was blown.

They stayed there, in blissful ignorance; both only thinking about how wonderful it was to be together. Angela idly let her hand drift up and down Tony's back, savoring these sweet emotions; the tenderness of his love, the heat of his passion; and, of course, the carnality of his physique.

Tony took a deep breath, wanting to imprint every nuance of the past few moments on his soul forever. Angela was softness and power; love and passion all rolled into one. She'd shared her most intimate secrets with him and he wanted nothing more than to continue to share those secrets with her. She amazed him.

They stayed lost in their thoughts, not saying a word, until they had to separate.

Angela laid down and curled up on a pillow. Tony moved down from his perch to lay next to her, "we should really think about breakfast."

"Of course you would think that."

"You should have something more than ju..." Tony stopped mid-sentence, horror overtaking him.

Angela sat up, pulling the covers around her, that was all it took, just the first two letters of juice and she remembered: Tony had called her Angela; not Christine, Angela. She gasped.

Tony sat up, remembering the same thing.

"I have to go," Angela attempted a way out. They couldn't confront this, she had to escape; had to get out of this hotel room with them at least pretending to keep up the façade.

"Angela, wait; please," he put an arm around her waist to help convince her to stay.

"No, Tony; no," she burst into tears.

"Come here, please," she was in no condition to argue so he gently pulled her close and put his arms around her. "It's ok, Angela, it's ok."

"How can you say that?" she asked, although it was hard for him to discern as she now had her hands over her face.

He tilted her face up and moved her hands out of the way. He touched the bottom of the mask, "maybe it's time to let this go?"

"No," she said, shaking her head and putting her hands back up. She cuddled back into his chest but then remembered that Tony was no longer her sanctuary, he was what she was running from. She turned away, and pulling a sheet around her, she ran to the bathroom where she'd stashed her suitcase.

This was going to be more difficult than he thought it would be. Tony found his shorts and pants from yesterday and put them on. He knocked on the bathroom door, "Angela, talk to me, please."

"There's nothing to talk about," she called out.

"Oh, come on."

"I'm leaving."

"Why?"

"We can't do this, Tony."

"Could you be a little more specific?" Tony was exasperated, he put a hand on either side of the door.

"We can't be here together."

"Why not?"

"Because we can't. Dammit, Tony; how could you? How could you ruin everything?"

"I didn't do it on purpose, you know. So sorry that calling your name in passion is such a turnoff for you."

Angela opened the bathroom door, she was dressed in normal everyday Angela clothes, the mask and wig were strewn on the counter.

"Please move, Tony."

He certainly didn't want to keep her here under duress, so he crossed his arms and moved.

"Thank you."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know...anywhere that's not here."

"Angela, you're over-reacting. There's no reason for it."

"How dare you tell me I'm over-reacting. You, the King of Overreaction, taking me to task. That's rich."

He sighed, "please talk to me. I don't want to let you walk out that door."

Her anger abated just a little, "Tony, there's nothing to say. The game is over, and it's best to forget it ever happened."

"Forget it? You want me to forget one of the best weeks of my life? That's not going to happen."

Angela was scattered; she felt trapped even though Tony was doing nothing to hold her in the room. She didn't want to leave him; but to stay would only lead to more heartbreak later on.

I'm sorry, Tony; I'm leaving. If you want to stay here until tomorrow, that's fine, the room is paid for until then."

"Stay here? Why would I want to stay in a place that's sacred to us together? If you aren't here, I have no reason to stay."

That was a sweet thing to say, and it did make Angela go a little weak in the knees, but fear overtook her and she bolted to the door, "fine, then I am going to check out. Good bye." With that, she left.

Tony watched her go, trying not to be hurt by her actions. She had to know they couldn't keep this up forever, so why was she having such a terrible reaction to being unmasked? Tony looked around the room, if Angela was checking out, he'd better get dressed and be on his way. He opened his suitcase and pulled out a shirt, he wadded up the rest of his Phantom outfit and put it in the laundry bag provided by the hotel; along with Angela's Christine dress.

He picked up the wilted roses from where they last landed and threw them out, then went to the bathroom and picked up the wig and mask. He carefully folded up the wig and placed it and the mask in the box on the night stand. Then the hurt really hit, because Angela had left behind the perfume and music box. He picked them up and tried not to think about her, which didn't work. He loved her, but she obviously didn't love him. She'd used him for sex, there was no love involved; how could he have missed the truth? Maybe because it was so far out of the realm of Angela to use someone like that he'd never suspected. She rejected him, she rejected his gifts; it hurt. He forced himself to put the gifts back in the box, now angry. How could she? How could she just use him and run out on him like that? No, that wasn't Angela. He was going to get to the bottom of this, find out the real reason she ran.

Resolved, he picked up the box and grabbed his suitcase and coat. He almost didn't take the "Do Not Disturb" sign, but then determined that he was going to work things out with Angela and he would want it, so he took it. He dropped off his room key and went home.

Angela wasn't there.


	9. Chapter 9

Tony tried to figure out where Angela disappeared to; he called the office, repeatedly, but if she was there, she didn't answer. He didn't think she would answer even if she was there, but he figured it was worth a shot to try. He went up to Mona's apartment, wondering if Angela was trying to hide right under his nose, but she wasn't there either. He went to Joe's bar, hoping she might make a return trip there; but there was only a hula contest and no Angela. He checked her favorite haunts for chocolate and ice cream, but no one had seen her.

He returned home and called the hotel Angela was registered at in Boston, but was only told that she wasn't in, and was asked if he wanted to leave a message. He did, but if Angela ever got it, she never called him in return. He considered calling Bloomingdale's, but decided that if Angela was there, she was there because she didn't want him to bother her, so he didn't call.

He unpacked, threw some laundry in; and gathered up his Phantom clothes to return them to the place he'd rented them from. He carefully placed Angela's Christine dress over the chair of her dressing table. The wig and the mask he put on the table itself. He took the perfume and music box into his room as emblems of her rejection of him and put them on his dresser as a reminder not to lose his heart, ever again. This current break was going to take a long time to get over. He wondered if he and Sam should move out; then laughed bitterly, remembering Angela's idea that she should move out because of her 'bedroom blatherings'. That seemed so innocent and long ago now; what he'd give to go back to that time, maybe be a little more honest with her. If he had, maybe they wouldn't be in the mess they were in right now.

Tony finally came to the conclusion that Angela would come home when she was damn good and ready, after all, she did have to come home some time, didn't she? With that hope in mind, he made dinner for two; which he ate alone. He put the leftovers in the fridge and sat down in front of the tv. He clicked through the channels, trying to find something to distract him from this morning's disaster; but couldn't get his mind off it. The channels flipped by with him not paying any attention to them, instead he was berating himself for ruining everything. Everything had been going so well; then it all came crashing down even more violently than the chandelier did in "Phantom."

Around 11pm Tony got tired of his mindless traipsing through 80 channels with nothing on and went upstairs to change into sweats and a t-shirt for bed. From where she was parked down the street, Angela saw the overhead light in the living room go off, Tony hadn't turned off all the lights in the living room, she knew he'd leave a light on for her. When she saw the upstairs light go on, she finally felt safe enough to go home. She shouldn't feel uncomfortable going to her own home, but she did.

Angela drove the rest of the short distance home, realizing she didn't want to see Tony; and the realization of that fact made her very sad. This was the man she loved so very, very much; not wanting to see him broke her heart. But she couldn't face him, couldn't look into his eyes anymore; she'd ruined everything by crossing a line she shouldn't have crossed. Hadn't he made that clear to her after her birthday? His evasiveness was a red flag she should have paid attention to. But she didn't and now she was angry with herself for going through with this whole stupid Phantom and Christine idea. What had she been thinking? She should have thrown the idea out the second it crossed her mind the same way she threw out bad advertising ideas.

Why had she let herself lose control? She should have just sublimated her desire for Tony once again, the same way she'd been sublimating it for years. Angela parked the car then softly banged her head against the steering wheel, trying to knock some sense into herself. She gathered up the shopping bags that were the therapy for this morning's trauma and snuck into her own home.

Angela crept upstairs while Tony was in the bathroom. She wondered when the steps suddenly became so loud and creaky. The last thing she wanted was for Tony to hear her coming up the stairs and confronting her. Finally reaching the top of the stairs, she tiptoed to her room, relieved to hear the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. Angela shut her bedroom door behind her and locked herself in. She dropped the shopping bags she'd been carrying and leaned against the door, worn out from a long day of trying to distract herself from Tony and her strong feelings for him. Now that she was in the sanctuary of her room, she felt safe; Tony wouldn't dare bother her here.

"Welcome home, Angela," Tony said through the door, trying not to sound bitter, he didn't quite succeed.

Angela, still leaning against her bedroom door, froze. How did he know she was home? She hadn't turned on her bedroom light.

He'd heard her creeping up the stairs, but didn't want to to ambush her in the hallway. This confrontation was going to have to be on her terms, he knew that. There would be no way he could force her into talking to him.

There was no answer from behind the door.

"I'm glad you're home safely. If you're hungry there's leftovers in the fridge, I won't bother you. Good night." Tony went to his room, loudly shutting, but not slamming the door. He did not lock his door.

Angela heard him go and didn't know whether to be relieved or to burst into tears. The tears won. She hugged herself, trying to make them stop, but they wouldn't. She stood there, sobbing, trying to be as quiet as possible. The dark room was closing in on her, she flipped on the light to try and dispel the darkness, but all that showed her was the tenderly placed remnants of a failed romance on her dressing table and chair. This only caused fresh tears.

Tony heard her crying and ached to go to her; but didn't want to contradict his previous vow of not bothering her. He didn't know what to do; he wanted to hold her, dry her tears, tell her everything would be all right; but her day long rejection of him kept him away. Her words, "we should forget this ever happened," came back to repeatedly haunt him. He believed she thought it was possible for them to forget this; he gave her credit for being able to separate their Phantom and Christine selves from their real selves. Tragically, Tony did not know that Angela was no more able to forget this past week than he was, so he stayed away, thinking he was giving her what she wanted.

Soon enough he no longer heard Angela's tears and wondered why he'd bothered agonizing over whether or not to knock on her door tonight as she'd obviously stopped crying quickly enough. Tony went to bed and dealt with a fitful night of sleep.

Angela hadn't stopped crying, she just moved into her bathroom where Tony would be less likely to hear her. She undressed, finding the un-sexiest nightgown she had, a long cotton gown; no lace, no roses, just plain old cotton. Angela looked in the mirror to take off what was left of her make-up, there wasn't much. Her eyes were red from crying, her hair wind-blown, her face puffy; the woman who looked back at her was a far cry from the sexy babe of this morning. Even though it had it only been a matter of hours, this morning seemed so very long ago. Given a choice between now and then, she'd definitely take then.

Angela threw some water on her face, perfunctorily brushed her teeth, and climbed into bed; mercifully glad that this day was over, but wondering how she was going to get through tomorrow.

As always, sooner than she expected, it was morning. The contrast between this morning and yesterday morning could not have been more severe. Yesterday she'd woken up next to Tony, all was right with the world. His warm presence granted her morning a joy she'd never known before. This morning she woke up clutching a pillow; it was no substitute for Tony. She missed him, she was bereft. How could she have gotten so used to waking up next to him in such a short time? The tears returned, Angela cried into the pillow, aching for the man who'd held her yesterday morning.

Tony was outside her room waiting for her to wake up. Whether she liked it or not, they were going to have to have a discussion today. Mona and the kids would be home later and he didn't want them coming home to a relationship in disarray, it would throw the whole household out of whack. He heard her crying. "Angela," he softly knocked on the door.

"Go away, Tony," she sniffed.

"Angela, we have to talk."

"No, we don't," she sniffed again; hoping he would agree even though she knew he was right.

"Angela, please, open the door."

Feeling that she might as well get this over with, Angela dried her eyes, threw on her blue bathrobe with the pink trim and opened the door. Tony hid his shock at her appearance; she'd obviously put herself through hell, all he wanted to do was hold her, make everything all better, but he knew she wouldn't permit that so he held his ground outside her door.

He picked a safe topic to start, seeing the bags still on the floor where Angela dropped them he said, "do a little shopping yesterday, Angela?"

She shrugged, knowing it was a rhetorical question.

Tony still didn't dare cross the threshold; nor did he think it wise to cross the threshold, her bedroom would be too charged an atmosphere for this conversation.

"There's a nice bench here in the hallway we never sit on; maybe we could try it out?" he tried to coax her out of the room. Realizing he presented a good option, Angela evaded the maze of bags on her bedroom floor and walked into the hallway.

Tony felt this in itself was a major victory.

They walked to the bench, awkwardly; and sat down, even more awkwardly. It was painfully quiet for a time, with Angela avoiding looking at him no matter what. She was noticing details in the wallpaper she'd never noticed before.

"I called all over looking for you yesterday."

"I know, I checked the service. I'm sorry I didn't call back...I was so lost...not lost like I didn't know where I was...just...lost."

"I could have helped you be...found."

She almost smiled at that. Instead she found the arm of the bench to be of great interest. She tapped her fingers on it, wondering how she was going to get through this conversation.

"It really hurt yesterday when you left."

This was a shock and Angela immediately stopped tapping and turned her head to him, "it did?"

"Yeah, of course. The game we'd been playing was over and you couldn't get out of there fast enough. I felt used."

Angela felt a knife through her heart, she'd been so focused on her own pain yesterday that she'd never even looked at the situation from his point of view. "I'm sorry, Tony, I never meant to use you."

"What did you mean, Angela? When you sent that invitation to the ball, what did you think would happen?"

"I thought we'd have some fun. Dance a little, kiss a little, drink champagne. It seemed so safe; a tryst between two people without having to acknowledge it in the daylight. I wasn't sure I'd be able to go through with it, but you looked so good; and I was tired of constantly suppressing all that I felt for you. I thought it would only be that one night." she laughed bitterly, "obviously I wasn't thinking clearly. I knew from the moment I pulled that Cinderella act on you that I could never live on just that one night. I needed you and you didn't seem to mind being needed. I thought we could keep the game going. It seems so stupid now."

He carefully closed one hand around hers; she was still skittish and he didn't want her retreating to her room again. He quietly and gently said, "not stupid. A little unrealistic maybe, but not stupid. Creative, daring, exciting; those would be the words I'd use."

She looked at him and smiled very, very tentatively; and turned away quickly. He seemed to have dropped his belief that she'd used him. He looked far too good this morning; raw, tousled, primal. She felt like a wreck, it wasn't fair that he could have a rough night and still look so good the morning after while she was a mess. Looking at him only made her want to crawl into his arms and stay there forever.

Still holding hands, but not daring to look at him, Angela got herself under control and asked the question she most wanted the answer to, "did you know it was me the whole time? When you called me 'Cinderella' and played "Phantom" in the house I thought for sure you knew."

"At the Club I hoped it was you, I certainly wanted it to be you."

Angela smiled but she still wouldn't look at him.

"And yes, I did do those things as a way of gauging your reaction, which, by the way, I enjoyed immensely."

"I'll bet you did."

They both managed a little laugh which broke the tension a bit.

"Angela, please look at me, we can't have this conversation if you're still trying to hide behind a mask."

It was true, physically the mask was gone, but Angela was still hiding.

"I'm sorry, Tony, I'm doing my best. This isn't easy to talk about. I knew we weren't going to be able to keep the charade up much longer. In fact I'd already decided that this weekend would be Christine's swan song. It was getting too risky. Guess I was too late."

"You made the decision to end our relationship without me?" The hurt was back.

She was desperate now, she looked at him, pain in her eyes, "I'm sorry, Tony. I've made a mess of everything. Please forgive me. I should have known it would never work. It made so much sense when I thought of the idea. Rent the costume, send you an invitation; share a night that would leave us both with happy memories. It seemed so perfect at the time. How could I have been so naïve? What was I thinking? I was thinking it would be my only chance with you, that's what I was thinking. I'm sorry, Tony; but how could I not take that chance?"

Tony watched this self-recrimination in shock, but it was her final words that sent him into action, "why would you think it was our only chance?"

"You turned away on my birthday. We had the perfect opportunity and you rejected me like we were in high school and I'd just asked you to the prom and you didn't want to go with me."

Tony had no idea she'd felt rejected, and it was dawning on him that there'd been a lot of unspoken hurt between the two of them the past couple of months. He let that go for the moment to set her straight on a misunderstanding, "Angela, I wasn't going to hold you to something you said while you were asleep," he now ventured out on a limb, "just like you didn't hold me to the words I said when I was under anesthesia."

They looked at each other, neither daring to repeat the words; although they both knew they'd been said and that they were the truth. They were still at a crossroads; would they go forward or would they go back to their relationship pre-Christine and pre-Phantom? Was it even possible to go back?

Tony broke the silence, even though he didn't dare approach the subject they needed to discuss most...yet. "I'm sorry. From our conversation at Joe's, I thought it was decided you weren't ready. Although I think we can cross the 'not ready' reason off the list at this point."

Her mouth quirked into a short, small, bitter smile; "there's only so much sublimating a person can do."

"We're both pretty good at sublimating; and how could you think I wouldn't go to the prom with you when I'd just thrown our own private prom?"

She smiled, "thought you were just being nice. I wanted you so much that night."

"Yeah?" He smiled.

"Of course." She rolled her eyes, "don't get conceited."

He innocently raised his eyes and pointed to himself, giving Angela her first real laugh of the day, which only made her love him more. "Oh Tony, what are we going to do? I can't go back to that relationship we had."

"I can't either, it seems so hollow now."

"Agreed. I woke up this morning...and all I could think of was how much I missed you. Tony, the sex was amazing, but the simple charm of waking up next to you was so nice, so cozy. I couldn't stand waking up without you."

'"I wasn't so crazy about waking up without you either. 'Course I wasn't so crazy about going to sleep without you either."

She laughed again, then quietly said, "it's not easy being so close, yet so far from you."

"It's not easy for me either. Angela," he ventured, "we could start dating for real."

Angela was stunned, but thrilled, that he would suggest such a bold option as a possibility. They'd run from the truth for so long, it didn't seem possible that maybe it was time to stop putting off a possible relationship into the future and create one right now. "We could?" she asked, wanting to make sure she heard him properly, yet also terrified of his possible answer.

"Yes, we could."

"Tony, I love the idea, but how would it work?"

"The way it normally works, Angela. We go out, have some fun. I'm sure your mother would be more than happy to babysit; she'd do anything to complete her goal of getting us together."

Angela smiled, "that's not the part I mean, Tony. We have two kids to set an example for in very close proximity. I don't want to model inappropriate behavior for them. There's no way I could keep my hands off you now."

"I wouldn't want you to," he grinned. She smiled back, her eyes twinkling.

Tony then put forward an even bolder idea, "we could just get married."

Angela gasped and brought her hands to her face, "Tony! Do you mean it?"

"Of course, Angela. No man says the M word without meaning it."

"But Tony we haven't ever really dated, we don't know if it will work."

"Angela, we've had four years together. We know each other a lot better than lots of couples do when they get married. We've been through some rough stuff together, but we've come through. And as for the _dating_ part of dating; we seem to have managed that just fine too."

She couldn't argue with him there, "Oh Tony," she sighed as she threw her arms around him. He put her arms around her and held her close, realizing that all of a sudden she wasn't just Angela anymore, she was his fiancée. At least he thought she was his fiancée, she hadn't actually said yes. Of course, he hadn't actually proposed. Figuring he should do something about that, he let go of his fiancée; which she protested, but stopped when he kissed her hand, got up from the bench and kneeled before her. He took her hands and said, "Angela, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around him again and kissed him. Tony put his hands on her waist, thrilled to be able to touch her again; it had barely been more than 24 hours, but he'd missed touching her so very, very much. They were almost frantically kissing, so eager were they to make up for the lost day. Finally, they let go of each other long enough to calm down a little. They looked at each other, nothing but smiles.

Tony got back up on the bench and put his hand on the side of Angela's face, the mask was gone, forever (unless they felt like playing, that is). He kissed the center of her forehead, then fanned out to one side, then the other. He kissed her temples, reveling in the joy of knowing that this was Angela, unburdened by subterfuge, free to love him as herself; not in fear, not in hiding. Angela felt herself slipping more deeply into love, allowing herself to just enjoy the feeling and not analyze it; it was a new sensation for her, one which liberated her from the self-imposed limitations of the past, she was finally able to love this man whole-heartedly.

He kissed her lips, then pulled away, leaving his hand to caress her cheek, "Angela, last week was great; ok, fantastic really, but this...this is even better."

She could only blush in response.

"So...can you think of any way to celebrate our engagement?" Tony asked, making it quite obvious he could think of some way to celebrate it.

"Tony, I'm a wreck, I'm not even wearing anything pretty or sexy."

"You look beautiful," he kissed her again to make sure she knew it, "and what you're wearing is damned sexy because you're wearing it."

"Tony," she blushed again.

"The rest of the family won't be home for hours."

"Well, that might give us enough time," she flirted.

Tony grinned.

Angela leaned to touch his chin and kiss him, then asked, "Tony? How long should we two wait before we're one?"

Tony recognized that line from the show, he'd been listening to the recording enough, "Not long, and I have got to see this show."

"We could go stand in the cancellations line some time; or I could pull some strings with contacts, there have to be tickets available somewhere."

"That would be fun, in the future; but right now, let's answer the question you just asked," he said, deftly picking her up from the bench and carrying her toward the bedroom door. She smiled.

"You know Tony, we never even said, "I love you."

"That's funny, we didn't, did we?"

"I love you," they both said at the same time; then laughed.

"Well, that takes care of that technicality," he said, and she laughed some more. By now they'd reached her bedroom, Tony kicked the door shut behind them and carefully stepped around all the shopping bags still on the floor. He didn't care about the bags, he didn't care about breakfast, he didn't care about anything except getting Angela to bed. Finally reaching his destination, he gently placed his beloved on the bed. Conveniently the bed was already a mess from Angela's fitful night of sleep.

He sat down beside her and kissed her, placing his hands on either side of her face to fully explore her soft skin now that it was no longer obscured by a mask.

Angela's heart beat faster due to Tony's kisses but also from nervousness. She was scared that Angela might not be as enticing in bed as "Christine" was. Tony was completely unaware of her fear, the thought of Angela disappointing him never crossed his mind. The only thoughts in his head were thoughts of Angela and how very happy he was that they had worked things out.

He pulled away for a moment to touch her hair, "nice to finally be able to run my fingers through your hair," he smiled, "although it was kind of fun seeing you as a brunette."

She smiled back, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Maybe Tony would prefer her as a brunette? Maybe she should just put the mask and wig back on; they seemed to work well for them.

"Something wrong, Angela?"

"No, of course not."

Tony took her hands in his, "I know you better than that. I can see something is bothering you."

"I...uh...I'm...maybe you'll like "Christine" better than me," she said mouse-like.

Tony saw he still had a little work to do to completely coax Angela out from behind that mask, "Angela, I love you. All the time I was with "Christine" I was with you. Remember, it was my calling you Angela that brought down the whole house of cards in the first place. But if it would make you feel better, I could put on the wig, I always wondered what it was like to have long hair," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Angela couldn't hold back the laughter, no matter how much she tried; which was exactly what Tony wanted. "Oh, Tony, just picturing you shirtless...with that wig on...," she buried her face in her hands to hold back the giggles.

He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, "so you're saying you don't want me in the wig, right? That's good because it would probably tickle."

Angela only laughed harder and lifted her face up to kiss him. She ended this kiss by sinking back into the pillows and pulling him on top of her, then tugged at the bottom of his t-shirt. Tony shirtless in that wig? Bad. Tony shirtless? Good. Very, very good, in fact.

Tony's shirt found its way off him and to the floor in no time flat. Which was followed quickly by both of them pulling off his sweat pants. Tony disrobed Angela, then took his time (although not too much time) slipping her nightgown up her legs and off of her; leaving both of them naked and smiling. They snuggled into bed together, reveling in the joy of the sensation of skin touching skin. Angela put her arms around Tony's neck and kissed his cheek, then whispered in his ear, "you're right, being Angela carries more freedom. I like it."

"Me too," he amiably agreed as he kissed her. This may have started simply as two lips gently caressing his beloved's; but quickly grew more intense and passionate. Angela trailed her fingers through Tony's short hair, letting herself go more deeply into the love she was feeling.

Tony moved to kiss her along her jaw line, then touched her hickey and smiled.

"I still can't believe you did that," she said, also smiling.

"Are you mad at me?"

"No," she admitted honestly.

"Good, because I've loved knowing it was there, being our secret," he answered, then kissed her neck and moved down to kiss across her collarbone. Angela sighed in contentment and caressed his strong arms, loving the way she felt his muscles flex as he moved.

Tony was on a mission, he wanted to kiss and caress her; head to toe. He kissed his way down her soft skin to her breasts, lavishing them with prolonged attention. Then he kissed his way down the silky skin of her abdomen, touching the sweet curves of her waist as well. Lower he went, peppering her inner thighs with kisses, and anointing her inner core with his tongue.

"Oh Tony," she sighed.

Much as Angela wanted him to stay right where he was, he would not be swayed from his mission; he'd come back to this spot, but for now he continued kissing down her thigh, over her knee, then indulged in gratifying a long-standing desire of his to examine every curve of her calf.

Judging by her reaction, Angela must have had a long-standing desire to have him do the very thing he was doing as his touch caused her to moan in pleasure. Tony felt his way down to her toes while his lips still explored her luscious leg. Grateful that human beings were bipedal, Tony eventually switched to Angela's other leg. Starting at her toes, he caressed his way up to her knee, then liberally kissed her curves all the way up to the place he'd only paid lip service to before. This time he planned to stay a while, and he did, sending Angela to the stratosphere with his touch and kiss.

"T..Tony," Angela whimpered, "oooh...," she said no more as she was lost in delicious bliss.

Tony paused for a moment to look at her face and admire her beauty; her eyes were closed, her cheeks crimson red, her hair tousled, she was exquisite and Tony wanted to complete his mission. After all, he reminded himself, completion was good. Who was he kidding? Completion was very, very good.

He moved over her, kissing his way back up the curve of her waist, back over her breasts and up to settle on the tender skin of her neck. His fingers slipped through her hair as he continued to kiss all the sensitive spots from her earlobe to her collarbone.

"Sorry, Tony," she said, coming down just a little from her high.

Tony was perplexed, he stopped and looked into her now open eyes, "for what?"

"Too far gone to...touch you...was hoping to give you some attention."

"Later," he grinned, "right now I just want to make love to you."

"Oooh," she sighed and closed her eyes again, far beyond any capacity to say that that's what she'd thought he'd been doing.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said as he nudged her legs apart. She languidly allowed him entrance.

"Love you," he said as he found his way to the centre of her warmth.

"Love...you...oh"

Together they reaffirmed their love, touching on the foundation they'd built over the past week, while promising each other that their future together would be one filled with even more love.

"Tony," Angela cried out as he sent her over the edge to even greater bliss.

"Angela," he answered, as he was also overcome by bliss.

Yes, completion was very, very good.

They calmed and Tony cuddled her close, kissing her forehead.

"Tony, you're right, that is the way to celebrate an engagement."

"I love being right," he answered, making both of them laugh.

Exhausted from the stress of the past day, and their mutual lack of rest the previous night, they both fell asleep. Fortunately it was still hours before anyone came home and they had time to nap, get dressed, eat, and put away all of Angela's purchases before having to share the house with anyone else. They briefly considered showering together but had to nix the idea because a normal quick shower would turn into something much longer and they didn't have time for that. Unfortunately.

The highlight of the afternoon was when Tony returned Angela's perfume and music box to her. Angela's eyes lit up at the sight of them and she held them close to her as she brought them into her room and placed them on the night stand so that they would be the last things she saw at night and the first things she saw in the morning. Too bad there wasn't a "Phantom" alarm clock, it would be much more pleasant to wake up to that than a blaring alarm. When she was thinking more rationally she realized a "Phantom" alarm clock would probably be a bad idea, because if she woke up next to Tony with music from "Phantom" playing, they wouldn't be getting out of bed for quite some time; and they did have other responsibilities to attend to.

The family returned from their respective weekend activities and hugs were shared all around. Mona noticed the change immediately, something had happened between them, she could see it in her daughter's eyes, now all she had to do was figure out what it was. She hoped it was that they decided to let everyone know they were dating.

"OK everyone; upstairs, unpack, dinner in the dining room in half an hour!" Tony commanded.

"I love Sunday dinner in the dining room," Sam said as she headed to pick up her suitcase.

"Me too, Sam, me too," Angela agreed. Sunday dinner was one of her favorite times of the week, the whole family gathered together, talking, laughing, just enjoying each other's company. Today would be an extra special dinner; she and Tony were going to see to that.

"Are we having linguine alle vongole tonight, Tony?" Jonathan asked. Funny how often that dish made it into the rotation of Sunday dinners.

"Sorry, champ, no clams today."

"Didn't have time to go to the store today, Tony?" Mona asked far too suspiciously for Angela's security, she was instantaneously worried.

"Nope," was Tony's innocent answer.

"By the way, Angela, how was _Boston?" _Mona asked and Angela knew damn well she wasn't asking about the city.

"Fine, Mother," Angela tried to brush her off.

"Do we have a new client?" No way was Mona going to be brushed off that easily.

"Negotiations were completed," was Angela's cryptic response; but it was all Mona needed.

Mona smiled and picked up her make-up case to head up to her apartment, "completion is good; I'm looking forward to meeting this new client and what he has to offer the Agency," with that she was out the door and inwardly jumping for joy. What she really wanted to do was let the kids in on her suspicions, keeping them G-rated, of course; but she had no way to get to them before dinner, disappointed she resigned herself to having to wait until after dinner to share this news with them.

Angela was worried, she knew her mother knew something, she only wished her mother wouldn't try to pry anything out of her in front of the kids.

Tony had the whole family home, dinner would be soon, and he was engaged to his beloved; he was as happy as one of those proverbial clams that were non-existent in the house at the moment as he finished up the final preparations for dinner.

Over dinner everyone caught up on the events in their lives over the past weekend; everyone except Tony and Angela, that is. There was only one event they were sharing with the rest of the family, they were just waiting until the proper moment to do so. Mona watched them, every look, every smile; she was very happy with what she saw. They were blissfully happy and it wasn't just because everyone was home, this was lover's bliss, the transcendent 'I Only Have Eyes For You' bliss. She kept looking for an opening to ask Angela a pointed question or two, but the kids were dominating the conversation with the accounts of their weekends. That was ok, she decided, she could bide her time.

"Mom, you seem awfully happy tonight," Jonathan said.

"Out of the mouths of babes," Mona thought.

"Do I?" she asked, looking at Tony, "well, it is a special occasion."

"No it isn't, we have dinner every day," Jonathan scoffed.

"Dinner is a special occasion," Tony said, "especially today," he said, looking at Angela; thereby confirming Mona's "I Only Have Eyes For You" diagnosis.

"Why?" Sam asked.

Tony and Angela continued to look at each other, leaving two mystified kids and one self-satisfied mother looking at them. Even though they'd decided to tell everyone about their engagement tonight, they hadn't worked out the details of how to tell them.

"You tell," Tony prompted.

"No, you tell," Angela giggled in response.

"Noooo, you," Tony teased back.

"Excuse me Bobby and Susie, can I take a guess before we all throw up?" Mona cut through the treacle.

Instant alarm filled both Tony's and Angela's eyes, "No!" they both said at the same time, very loudly. Heaven only knew what Mona would say, she probably wouldn't be far from the truth, but neither Tony nor Angela wanted Mona's guess about anything concerning their relationship.

"Go on, Tony, you tell," Angela said gently; this was a big announcement and she wanted him to have the honor of telling it.

"Well, let's see; after a brief, but eventful, courtship, Angela and I have decided to get married."

Mona dropped her fork, she'd been expecting a dating announcement so the wedding announcement shocked her, in a good way, of course.

Angela looked at her mother and smirked, glad to see that she and Tony had managed to surprise her.

"Really?" Sam squealed, "you aren't making this up, are you?"

"Sam, this isn't a subject to play around with," Angela said, putting her hand on her soon to be formalized stepdaughter's hand. Sam was so excited she was bouncing up and down in her chair.

"I didn't even know you two were dating," Jonathan said, trying to sort everything out. He thought this to be a good turn of events, even if he didn't quite understand how they got to this point.

"Don't let them kid you, Jonathan," his grandmother said, "if my vast knowledge of relationships counts for anything, and it does, I can safely say that your mother did not meet a client in Boston over the weekend."

Angela blushed.

"Aha!" Mona declared triumphantly, "I knew it!"

Angela put her elbow on the table and tried to cover her blushing face with her hand. Mona wasn't going to stand for that for two reasons; one of course being further embarrassment of her daughter and the second being plain old manners, "get your elbow off the table," she knocked her daughter's elbow away.

"Ow, Mother," Angela said, soothing her elbow with her other hand. Mona grinned in satisfaction.

"So, you started dating last weekend?" Jonathan asked, not trying to pry, just trying to understand everything. From his point of view his mom and Tony had just leaped from friends to engaged couple without completing any of the in between steps.

"My best guess is that they started _dating _just over a week ago," Mona put forth her theory.

"Damn," was all Angela could think, had it been that obvious? Of course, this was her mother, the woman with the sex sixth sense. Hopefully it had not been so obvious to everyone else.

Tony wisely kept his mouth shut and his nose out of this mother and daughter conversation; for once. He was learning.

"Yes, Jonathan, your grandmother is correct," out of the corner of her eye, Angela saw her mother congratulate herself with a fist pump, Angela ignored her and continued to address her son, Tony and I started...dating," Angela made sure to take all the euphemism out of that word, "just over a week ago. We didn't want to tell anyone in case it didn't work out." The last bit sounded so good even Angela believed it.

Samantha could not longer contain herself, she jumped out of her chair and ran over to hug her father, "who cares how long they've been dating? They're engaged!" She hugged her dad again. He hugged her back and teased, "so, I take it you're ok with this?"

"Ok? This is the best news ever!" Then she kissed him on the cheek and ran down to hug Angela. She hugged her back and said, "I'm glad you're happy with this news." Still hugging Sam she turned to her son and said, "Jonathan, how do you feel about this?"

"It's cool," he answered. Tony leaned over and mussed up his hair.

"Boys," Sam scoffed, "he should be jumping for joy over this," she said, finally returning to her seat.

Angela only smiled and turned to her mother, "I don't see you jumping for joy, Mother."

"Oh, trust me I am...inwardly."

Angela kept waiting for the shoe to drop.

"But I think my feelings can best be described as 'immense satisfaction.' Although it still doesn't reach the amount of 'immense satisfaction' you two have been feeling for the past week or so."

Ah, there it was. "Mother," Angela warned.

Mona was all innocence, "what, dear?"

Angela rolled her eyes.

"When are you getting married?" Sam wanted to know.

"We haven't set a date yet."

"Trust me, kid; it will be soon. In fact, I don't think these two make it through next weekend without getting married."

"Mother, that seems a little too soon."

"I know you two far too well."

Angela blushed and hoped her mother would drop the subject.

"Oh please, please, please get married this weekend," Sam clasped her hands together and begged.

"Do you think we could arrange everything by Saturday?" Angela shyly looked at her beloved.

"I knew you wouldn't have any objection to a quick wedding," Mona said. Yes, she did know them well.

Angela blushed even deeper.

"I see you are rehearsing the part of 'blushing bride' very well, Angela," her mother teased.

"That's enough, Mother," Angela said with finality; but couldn't keep from blushing even more.

"Not quite dear, I'd like to comment on your sudden love of scarves and the vast array you seem to have acquired in the past week," Mona smirked.

"No way," Samantha said, having not put two and two together until now, she turned to her father and tutted, "you lectured me about hickeys, then you turn around and give one to Angela?" she mockingly shook her head, "dad, dad; let me tell you about women," she counted on her fingers, "first they'll tell you that they really care about you. Then they'll tell you that they could die if they stop," Sam moved on to full on shake of the finger, "dad, you should never do anything that would make you uncomfortable." All through this Tony and Angela kept looking at each other, Tony with a 'can you believe this?' look on his face and Angela trying not to laugh, but failing completely and blushing like crazy.

"I'm glad you were listening Sam; but the situation is different," her father said calmly when he daughter finished her lecture. And he was certainly never in an uncomfortable situation with Angela; in fact he was probably more comfortable than he had ever been in his whole life, but he was not going to share that information.

Sam teased, "yeah, you're adults, it's...unseemly. Mona, aren't you going to lecture your daughter?"

"Are you kidding? It's about time she had a hickey."

If looks could kill, Mona would have been incinerated by the one Angela was giving her right now. "Has everyone had their fun?" she asked, expecting affirmations from all around the table.

"Yes, but obviously not as much fun as you two have been having," Mona answered affirmatively, but not in the affirmative way Angela wanted. Sam laughed, but was quickly quelled by a look from her father.

"Come on, Angela, let's see it," Mona demanded, making a small lunge toward Angela's scarf.

Fortunately Mona was seated far enough away and couldn't get close enough to grab the scarf. Angela had her hand over it so quickly anyway that she never really had a chance, but it was worth the try. "Absolutely not," was Angela's final word, this was something special between her and her beloved, she was not sharing it with anyone else.

"Eeeeuuuw, enough everyone; I'm trying to eat!" Jonathan finished the conversation once and for all.

Everyone laughed and finished dinner, much happier than they'd started dinner, which was a surprise because they'd been very happy before dinner.


	10. Chapter 10

Phantom Lover Chapter 10

News of Tony and Angela's engagement came as a surprise, but at the same time not a surprise to their neighbors. They weren't surprised the two were finally engaged, just that they'd managed to date so secretly. The quick wedding date gave rise to many rumors; some took it as confirmation that the pair had been secretly dating for years, others started a pool on the due date of the baby. Joanne Parker started that one, her mind not being able to comprehend that people might want to get married quickly because they didn't wanted to spend any more time apart.

The plans were made for a Saturday afternoon wedding, with the reception in one of the small rooms at the club. With so little lead time for wedding planning they had to take what they could get at the club; and if a smaller room meant that Joanne Parker couldn't be invited? Oh well, too bad, so sad.

Angela had one more job for the soon to be out of her personal employ messenger; he had to hand deliver the invitations to the guests as there wouldn't be time for them to be delivered by the post office. Fortunately the messenger knew the neighborhood well by now.

The week flew by; one day Angela, Mona and Sam went dress shopping. They had a great time, although only Sam and Mona bought new dresses. When questioned, Angela would only say that she already had her wedding gown. To which Mona raised her eyebrows and asked, "just how long have you been planning your wedding to Tony, dear?"

Angela rolled her eyes and answered, "since Sunday, Mother. No, I have not had a wedding gown in the closet for years waiting for the day Tony would ask me to marry him."

"You think we can believe her?" she asked Sam.

"I think so," Sam answered.

"Smart girl," Angela said. Sam obviously knew which woman to side with. Wanting to changed the subject, Angela suggested, "how about some ice cream?"

"Yes!" Sam answered enthusiastically.

Mona wanted answers on this gown, she vowed that some day she would get them. Until then she'd have to content herself with ice cream, which, for Mona, wasn't much consolation. For Mona the only consolation ice cream brought her was when she was licking it off some one; and since that certainly didn't seem likely to happen any time in the next few minutes, she was going to have to play nice with her daughter and Sam; no matter how comparatively boring that was.

Saturday finally dawned, fine and sunny, which was good because they had chosen an outdoor location for the wedding. Angela got dressed that morning, giddy in the knowledge that tonight she'd be Tony's wife and she would no longer sleep alone or wake up alone. They'd spend tonight together at the Fairfield Inn (of course) but would have to delay a longer honeymoon until Tony was on break from school and she could clear her schedule enough. If a delayed honeymoon was the only downside to a quick wedding, Angela would gladly postpone a vacation for two until a later date. Their schedules being what they were they'd probably just wind up sending the kids to Mona's for a few days and have their honeymoon at home anyway.

But honeymoon thoughts weren't uppermost in Angela's thoughts at the moment; thoughts of the wedding were. She temporarily moved her "Phantom" music box to her dressing table so she could listen to it while she got dressed; it put a smile on her face both for the memories it brought and also for the dreamy promise of her future life with Tony.

The woman had taken over the main house. It was crazy with activity; the flowers arrived, the photographer arrived, the hairdresser arrived. Mrs. Rossini arrived, still a little in shock by this quick turn of events, but very happy about it (and also secretly wondering if there might be a little bambino on the way.) Tony and Jonathan escaped the madness by dressing at Mona's and posing for pictures there.

At long last, everyone was ready. The men took one limo to the site of the wedding; the women took a second limo, which left after the first was out of sight just to make sure Tony couldn't see Angela in her wedding dress until the proper time. While they were waiting to get into the car, Angela admired her wedding bouquet, an exquisite arrangement of white and red roses in full bloom. The roses formed a large hemisphere, then gently angled in as they cascaded their way down to one red rosebud. It was beautiful and Angela was thrilled with it. Although Angela hadn't seen them before they left, she knew her guys were wearing red rosebud boutonnieres with their tuxes.

Angela tore herself away from admiring her bouquet to enter the limo and make the trip to the ceremony site. And just where did they choose to be married? Near the path of willow trees, close to the spot of their second tryst; but farther away from the railroad tracks. It was a pretty location, and everyone bought their lie that they chose the location due to everyplace else being booked up already. It wasn't a complete lie, other places were booked up, but no one had to know the site had another meaning to the very happy couple.

Tony awaited his bride with Jonathan standing next to him. The officiant and the guests watched as Angela's limo pulled up. Mrs. Rossini emerged first, clutching tissues and trying not to cry. Samantha was second; Tony smiled at how beautiful his daughter looked in her pink maid of honor dress. Mona was next out of the car, grinning like crazy at finally getting her daughter and Tony married, a long held dream of hers was coming true and she was enjoying every second. The ladies gathered around the car door so Tony's vision of Angela was obscured as she exited the car. He tried to see over them, but couldn't get a good sight line.

Mrs. Rossini walked down the short aisle to her seat in the front row. Mona graced the aisle as though she was a queen on parade; one could almost see her waving her hand like royalty and saying, "yes, yes; I introduced them, they can thank me for their happiness; and I won't let them forget it." She said none of this, of course; but her satisfaction at this wedding was palpable. Sam was next, carrying her little bouquet of white roses. Tony was so proud of his little girl that he even managed not to think about Angela for a few moments. Sam took her place as maid of honor and her dad mouthed, "you look beautiful." She beamed back at him.

Tony looked down the aisle to see Angela walking toward him. His eyes almost popped out of his head and he couldn't keep the grin off his face when he saw Angela in her wedding gown; it was the same dress "Christine" wore to the Masquerade Ball at the Country Club. She looked even better in it this time, without the mask and with her own hair, which she wore down. (Partially to cover up the fading hickey, which had been covered up with make-up; but Angela wanted more covering the spot, so she used her hair to obscure it as well.) This was going to be a very fast wedding, Tony and Angela were back to their, "I Only Have Eyes For You" routine. Far too slowly for Tony, Angela walked down the aisle. When she finally reached him, he took her hand and leaned over to whisper in her ear, "are you trying to cause an incident people will talk about for years?" She had the nerve to only answer him by smiling so innocently and demurely that Tony could only roll his eyes and smile in response.

The officiant was quick to pick up cues, and the chemistry between these two was off the charts, he started the service in an instant, "dearly beloved, we are gathered..."

He probably said something else, but Tony and Angela weren't really listening, they were too busy gazing at each other.

"Ahem, I said; do you Tony, take Angela to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Yup, too busy gazing at each other to pay attention.

Tony cleared his throat and Angela smiled, "I do," he said.

"Do you Angela take Tony to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," she sighed.

The minister completed the vows; watching Tony and Angela promising to love, honor and cherish each other in sickness and in health, till death did them part.

Next up, the rings; the officiant nodded to Jonathan and he took his mother's wedding band out of his pocket and handed it to Tony. Angela beamed with joy at her little boy; then by some miracle actually remembered to turn and hand her bouquet to Sam so there would be no obstruction to Tony placing the ring on her finger.

Tony also managed a miracle by listening to the minister and repeating the words, "with this ring, I thee wed." Angela looked at the new ring on her finger and beamed even more.

The minister looked at Jonathan again and he took Tony's ring out of another pocket. Angela took the ring from her son, still smiling even more brightly than the sun. She placed the ring on Tony's finger and repeated the words, "with this ring, I thee wed."

The officiant finished the ceremony and said the words everyone was waiting for, "you may kiss the bride."

Tony placed his hands on his wife's cheeks and kissed her. He moved his hands down and put them around her waist, she put her arms around his neck and they continued to kiss, oblivious to their guests. Jonathan was at first embarrassed, then he just lost patience and crossed his arms in annoyance. Sam was happy and Mona grew even more smugly satisfied with herself. Mrs. Rossini just kept crying.

Finally Tony and Angela finished their kiss, they separated and their friends applauded their marriage. Or were they applauding the kiss? Tony and Angela didn't know and didn't care. Angela retrieved her bouquet and they walked down the aisle arm in arm as husband and wife.

At the reception Tony and Angela shared their first dance to "All I Ask of You." They were a beautiful couple on the floor, obviously taking the lyrics of the song to heart. Their guests admired their love for each other, and were happy to be part of this special occasion.

Later in the evening the reception was in full swing as Angela clasped Tony's hand and pulled him away from the festivities.

"Where are we going?" he asked as they left.

"Oh, I think you know the spot."

Tony stopped walking, "Angela, we can't. This is our wedding reception."

"There's no more appropriate time to consummate a marriage."

"Sure there is...the honeymoon, for instance."

"My goodness, Tony; I didn't think you'd be so prudish about this."

"I'm not...it's just that there are people around."

"There were people around on the night of the Masquerade Ball as well."

"Yeah, but they weren't looking for us. What about the cake cutting?"

"Tony, relax, will you. We're just going for a walk...alone."

Yeah, sure they were. Tony didn't believe it either but he walked with her to their favorite spot. Angela leaned against the stone pillar again.

"Wow, Angela; you look fantastic in the moonlight."

"Thanks, hon. You gonna do anything about that?"

Well, there would certainly be nothing wrong with kissing his wife in the moonlight, so he did.

Of course Angela had other plans, which she put into action. Down went Tony's zipper and Angela grasped him firmly in hand and quickly hardened him.

"Geez, Angela; what are you doing?"

"I'd have thought that to be obvious."

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

She still hadn't let go of him, "you're so easy, Micelli."

"Only for you, Mrs. Micelli."

"I don't think one can truly be called 'Mrs.' until the marriage is consummated." Then she pulled her hand away and lifted her skirt.

"Well, it would be romantic to consummate our marriage here," he said.

"Mm hmm," she agreed, drawing one of her beautiful legs up his.

Tony drew closer and Angela put an arm around him, "love you," she whispered.

"Love you too, Mrs. Micelli," he whispered back, joining her so that his actions backed up his words.

"Oh, Tony," she sighed as he continued to make her Mrs. Micelli. This was better than their first time; now she didn't have to hide behind a mask, she could look him in the eyes and kiss him, which she did. This was no frantic coupling like before, this was two people loving each other, albeit quickly due to the party; but tenderly. The strokes were long and loving, and even though she hadn't held the title for long, Angela knew she was going to love being Mrs. Micelli.

Their marriage consummated, Tony kissed his bride, "love you so, Angela," he said.

"Love you too, darling," she answered.

"At least this time I don't have to worry about you pulling a Cinderella act on me."

She laughed, "no, you definitely don't have to worry about that."

They kissed again in the moonlight, then made themselves presentable enough to rejoin the party.

Mona noticed their absence; but even more so, noticed their return. She was a very smug woman throughout the night, even though no one else ever knew why.


	11. Chapter 11

Phantom Lover Chapter 11

Angela emerged from the bathroom one night sans bathrobe; and nightgown. Tony openly gaped at her. "Um, Angela, hon...," he started as she sauntered by him, completely naked, on her way to their bed.

"Yes, hon?"

"You seem to have forgotten your night clothes...not that I am complaining or anything." Nope, definitely not complaining, he just felt overdressed in his bathrobe.

Angela reached the night stand and picked up her bottle of "Phantom" perfume. "No, I haven't, this is what I plan to wear to bed tonight."

Tony's jaw dropped.

Angela gave him a look that was more than 'come hither', it was 'get over here now if you know what's good for you.'

Fortunately Tony did know what was good for him, he tore off his bathrobe; conveniently he wasn't wearing anything underneath and hurried over to the bed where Angela now rested, patiently waiting for him.

"Never thought about a fantasy coming true for a second time," he said as he opened the bottle.

"The more often the better, after all last time I was still wearing that wig and mask."

"True, having you as you and not "Christine" is an improvement."

"Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm still not wearing any perfume."

Tony set about to rectifying that situation immediately.


	12. Chapter 12

Phantom Lover Chapter 12

Due to Tony and Angela's busy schedules a few months had flown by before they could actually follow through on their plans to actually see "Phantom of the Opera" together. It was worth the wait though, as Angela had a contact who came through with great seats. Even though they both had the score memorized by now, they still marveled at the music and lyrics. They held hands throughout the whole performance, and even held them a little tighter through "All I Ask of You," giving each other quick glances while the song was performed.

Angela was thrilled to finally be able to share this show with Tony, and he was thrilled to be able to watch the show with his wife. The show held so much meaning for them, to finally be able to experience the show with her was a dream come true.

After the show, they waited until the exit music was over and dallied their way up the aisle, making them among the last patrons to leave the theatre that evening, hand in hand, of course. They weren't in a hurry as they were staying in the City overnight. They headed towards Times Square, but even before they left the shelter of the marquee of the Majestic Theatre, they paused as Tony had something he wanted to say.

He kissed her cheek, "thanks for taking the chance and using the show so well."

"I don't know if it was chance taking or desperation," she laughed and he laughed with her.

"I'm glad our story has a happier ending."

"Tony," she said, "our story has an even happier ending."

"Well, yeah," he said, confused, "we're together."

"That's not what I mean," she took his hands in hers, "Tony, I'm pregnant."

She watched his jaw literally drop. "Angela...really?" He was grinning.

"Yes, confirmed by a doctor and everything."

He wrapped her up and kissed her breathless.

"I can't believe it," he said.

"But you are happy about it, yes?"

"Of course I'm happy...thrilled really."

"I mean we never talked about kids, except of course in an oblique fashion when I said I everything taken care of; but I guess there's just no stopping a Micelli on a mission."

"No, there isn't," he hugged her tightly again. Fortunately there wasn't much pedestrian traffic in the area at this hour of the night, so they were able to indulge in more hugging and kissing without being pushed by their fellow New Yorkers.

Tony finally remembered that they were in midtown Manhattan, pickpockets could be nearby and their behavior was making them an easy mark. He reluctantly let Angela go, but kept one around firmly around her waist as they walked to Times Square.

"What have you thought about for names?"

"Tony, I've been so surprised I haven't even had a chance to think about it; besides I wouldn't want to think about names without you."

He smiled, "the show brought us together, maybe we could use Christine for a name." Tony stopped walking, also stopping Angela in the process, "come to think of it, that's not a good option, conjures up too many images of you."

"Good point. Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Rose would also be out of the question."

He laughed wholeheartedly, "good point. Maybe we should think about boys' names instead."

"Ok. What about Michael?"

"Michael? You want to name our child after your ex-husband?"

"Oh...yeah...I forgot about him."

"Good."

Angela gave up, "maybe we should forget about names for the night, we don't seem to be much good at it. We'll take it up with the kids, see what suggestions they have."

"My guess would be Samantha Junior or Jonathan Junior," Tony joked.

Angela laughed.

"Mona Junior is also out of the question," he joked again.

Angela laughed some more.

Tony and Angela made it back to their hotel room where they did not discuss names; or much else for that matter.

In due time, Tony's secret wish for twins came true; a son named Joseph Paul and a daughter named Stephanie Grace joined the family. Tony and Angela were tired parents; but very happy parents, they had many reasons to celebrate and throughout their lives they never missed a celebration. They celebrated the day they met, they celebrated birthdays, they celebrated their wedding anniversary; but it was likely their favorite day to celebrate was the anniversary of the night of a certain masquerade ball when Angela turned her phantom lover into her dream come true lover. They celebrated that anniversary the same way every year, by seeing "Phantom" again and spending the night in the City. And if it just so happened that roses and perfume and a mask played some part in that date...well, who was to know except for the two of them.

The End. Thanks to everyone for reading!


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